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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24793660">Avenger's Creed</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nexas_Hart/pseuds/Nexas_Hart'>Nexas_Hart</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Avenger's Creed Universe [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Assassin's Creed - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Assassin Peter Parker, BAMF Michelle Jones, BAMF Peter Parker, Bot Appreciation, Desmond Miles Lives, Lucy Stillman Lives, Modern Assassins (Assassin's Creed), Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker &amp; Shuri Friendship, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, because I said so</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:42:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>24,709</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24793660</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nexas_Hart/pseuds/Nexas_Hart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An organization deeply rooted in world government that has been manipulating events to further their own goals of controlling the world, all while collecting various powerful items and artifacts to use in that very same purpose.</p><p>HYDRA, right? No?</p><p>Who are these Templar people?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Brunnhilde | Valkyrie &amp; Loki (Marvel), Brunnhilde | Valkyrie &amp; Thor (Marvel), Desmond Miles &amp; Lucy Stillman, Desmond Miles &amp; William Miles, Loki &amp; Thor (Marvel), Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds &amp; Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker &amp; Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker &amp; Shuri, Peter Parker &amp; Tony Stark, Rebecca Crane &amp; Shaun Hastings, Wanda Maximoff/Vision</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Avenger's Creed Universe [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748671</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>191</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Finally posting the opening chapter.</p><p>No update schedule, sorry. Will work on it when I can. Not sure how long this fic will be, but I'll try to keep writing until it reaches its conclusion.</p><p>It will be a major branch off from both universes, but may reference a few things in both. Have fun with it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 1</p><p>	Tony Stark wakes up with a headache. He’s very familiar with that, but this time he knows it’s not from drinking. For one, he’s pretty much sworn off of alcohol. It’s pretty serious, not like his attempt at cutting out dairy. So, he knows he’s not coming out of a hangover. Next two options, he’s been drugged or knocked out. He blinks a few times, waiting for his vision to clear. When it does, he kind of wishes it hadn’t.</p><p>	He’s in a cell. A metal box with a single glass wall. More than likely the door. If he hadn’t already known the Raft’s designs and decor, or lack thereof, inside and out, he’d think he was there. Similar, with the blank metal and clean white undertones. It’s not though, which could be seen as either comforting or something to panic about.</p><p>	First order of business, check his surroundings. Not much to check to be honest. Walls and ceilings are flush enough that he can’t get a nail under them. Vents are smooth and bolted in with micro-screws. No other things he’s noticed about his current digs.</p><p>	His housing unit is gone. So are his watch and glasses. They’ve even changed him out of his clothes into a set of gray pants and shirt. The unit is supposed to send out an alert if it’s removed from his chest. It’s also supposed to start sending out a continuous distress signal if there isn’t a confirmation signal within three hours after removal, or if FRIDAY’s main code loses contact with it for more than twenty-four hours. Only thing left to do is wait and plan.</p><p>	He takes the few steps forward until he’s at the front of his cell, and he sees a figure just off to his side.</p><p>	“So, they got you, too.”</p><p>	He’s now staring directly at Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, sitting down casually against the wall of another cell slightly angled but across the floor from him in the little half circle they seem to have here.</p><p>	“Any idea who ‘they’ are?” Tony takes his own seat. “And how they managed to get to us?”</p><p>	“Some theories on who, but I’d rather not voice them until I’m sure,” she responds. “They got the drop on me at a gas station right before I crossed into New York City. Took out three of them, but I was hit with a tranquilizer in the back of the neck.”</p><p>	“Must be pretty good to get the drop on you,” he whistles.</p><p>	“Trained pretty well, too. Wanted me alive, though. Tranquilizers and stun batons. I didn’t have the same motivations. At least one of them shouldn’t’ve made it. So, where’d they get you?”</p><p>	“Best I can figure,” Stark sighs. “Somewhere between one of our New York branch offices and that Queens sandwich shop the kid got me hooked on. One time I actually decide to go into work, and this happens.”</p><p>	“I would suggest driving next time,” the spy quips.</p><p>	“Excuse me for trying to keep my health up. The kid is starting to make me feel my age.”</p><p>	“Is that the reason I’m starting to see gray hairs?”</p><p>	Tony’s about to strike back with another witty remark, when the main door to the room their cells are in slides open. A clean-cut man in a lab coat comes waltzing into the room like he owns the place. Given everything that’s going on, and the expensive watch on the guy’s wrist, he probably does.</p><p>	“Good morning, you two.”</p><p>	“Is it?” Tony directs his snark at their captor. “Can’t tell. No windows. Can I get a room upgrade?”</p><p>	“We might be able to work something out,” the man smirks. “If you’re willing to cooperate.”</p><p>	“There it is,” he sighs. “What is it?”</p><p>	“Well, Mr. Stark-.”</p><p>	Alarms blare and lights flash as the noise cuts the man off. Despite this, he seems pretty calm through the whole thing.</p><p>	“Interesting. They responded quicker than I’d expected,” he reaches inside of his lab coat and pulls out a radio while walking out. “Lock down the containment area. Keep the priority sites secured and leave none of the intruders alive.” He turns back to the two superheroes in their cells. “Well, we’ll have to table the discussion for later. I’ll see you soon, Stark.”</p><p>	With that, the door shuts and the two of them are left in a quiet room with a flashing red light.</p><p>	“That was interesting,” Tony comments.</p><p>	Nat keeps looking at the door. “Seems like someone doesn’t want these people to have us.”</p><p>	“Hopefully they can get through.”</p><p>	“Hopefully they have orders to rescue and not silence.”</p><p>	With that happy and not at all pessimistic viewpoint, Tony turns around himself to sit facing the door. At the two-minute mark, because he is actually counting, he starts fidgeting with his pant leg. At seven, he starts to wish he had a ball to bounce against the wall. Or a harmonica. He can’t even play the harmonica, but it would be something to do. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, at the ten-minute mark, something happens.</p><p>	The door opens again to a group of four people. Not lab coats, though. Each of them is in a full-length cloak, only one is white, the others are darker shades. Each have deep cowls pulled over their heads. One of them, probably the leader, brings her hand into the hood and speaks.</p><p>	“We’ve found the primary objective,” she says. “Finish your missions and converge on the west wing.”</p><p>	The three other hooded people seem to already have their orders. Two of them stand guard at the entrance to the room, while the fourth immediately heads towards Tony’s cell. Pulling out a knife, he pries open one side of the metal frame to show what is probably the control box the billionaire can see on the other cells. It takes three minutes, but the person in the cloak manages to cause the glass wall to slide up, freeing Tony. Before it finishes the journey up, the lockpicker is already at Natasha’s cell. It takes a shorter amount of time for the wall to start up, and they step back to allow the woman inside ample room. The Black Widow, however, has other ideas.</p><p>	The now free super-spy immediately springs into action. She disarms the person who unlocked the door, grabs his knife out of the air, and presses the tip of it to his neck, exposing enough of the face to see the male features.</p><p>	The rest of the group, although now on guard, is pretty calm. Even the one who is at knife point doesn’t seem that shocked, if anything he has a pretty amused look on his face.</p><p>	“Kinda rude of you,” the guy chuckles a bit. “We did just let you out of your cell.”</p><p>	“Carter, shut up,” the leader sighs. “But seriously, we don’t actually have a lot of time for this. We are here to rescue you.”</p><p>	“And how do I know you’re any better than the people who put us here, Assassin?” Nat glares at the woman.</p><p>	At this point another hooded figure appears in the doorway. The person seems to take stock of the situation in a few seconds. Then, he drops his hood. Tony feels the air leave his lungs, while something clatters to the floor where Nat and her hostage were standing.</p><p>	“Nat, please,” Peter Parker pleads. “We can explain everything later, but we have to go now.”<br/> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Evacuation, and a confused Tony Stark.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have unreliable internet, limited data, a busy and unstable work schedule, and a few other fics buzzing around in my head that will only stop doing so when I start to write them.</p>
<p>This is, however, one of my favorites out of all of them, simply because I actually managed to think up the concept myself instead of reading a whole bunch of other fics and wanting to write my own version. I really appreciate all of the comments and support I get. I read every one of them, even if I don't reply. Sometimes it's one of the only things that keeps me writing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 2</p>
<p>	The rest of their extraction is done in silence by everyone, partly because they all understand the importance of stealth when in enemy territory. Partially because Tony still hasn’t wrapped his head around his intern being a part of whatever organization has come to rescue them.</p>
<p>It’s pretty obvious he is. The comfort the kid seems to have in the uniform they wear, his is a slightly deeper blue with red stripes and undertones, inverting the usual Spider-man color scheme, if a bit darker in shade. Wouldn’t even associate the two if Stark wasn’t already aware of the kid’s secret identity. He also works seamlessly with the rest of the group, following orders and various hand signal like they’re second nature.</p>
<p>They hear signs of fighting throughout the halls, but they mostly only find cursory evidence of any battle as they pass through. It’s mainly blood, which causes Tony to shiver slightly as they walk by a particularly grand display of a crimson colored modern art imitation smeared along the walls. It seems like he’s the only one affected, which, with Peter here, concerns him more than he was expecting.</p>
<p>It doesn’t take long for the group to be taken into the back of a nondescript white van, which does wonders for the two Avengers’ paranoia. They both take a seat on one of the benches on the side while Peter takes his own spot across from them. The leader sits casually next to him, while the one Nat held a knife to, Carter, closes the door behind him and sits next to the leader. There’s a rumbling as the van starts up and the familiar lurch as it moves forward.</p>
<p>The next few minutes are some of the most awkward that Tony’s had in a while. Peter is keeping his head down, obviously avoiding eye contact with everyone in the van. The leader, now with her hood down and admittedly attractive features exposed, is keeping an eye on the kid but also making sure that she can see the two Avengers. Carter for his part, seems to mostly be watching Nat. He’s got his knife back, but I doubt he’s going to be dropping his guard around the other woman for the foreseeable future. Finally, it’s the Black Widow that breaks the silence.</p>
<p>“So,” she leans forward a bit, eyebrow quirked. “An Assassin, huh?”</p>
<p>Peter nods, eyes still downcast.</p>
<p>“Makes sense,” Nat smirks. “Knew you were trained, in some way. Nobody gets that sort of fighting ability just from watching YouTube videos. Clears up a lot of other questions I had about you and your friends, and why some of your moves seemed familiar.”</p>
<p>He looks up at her at this, his eyes questioning. The two other cloak wearers do so, as well.</p>
<p>“Okay,” Tony decides it’s time to cut in. “It seems like I’m the only one in the group who’s out of the loop. So, I could use a bit of a review. From what I can tell, Pete’s been a part of a super-secret group of spies, and you,” he points at Nat. “Knew something about it, and didn’t think to tell me.”</p>
<p>“First,” Natasha frowns. “I just knew that he had been trained beforehand. Him and MJ fought too well, although she did better at hiding it. They had similarities which means that it was an organization with a specific style. I looked into it, and didn’t find much. The only thing I figured out was that they weren’t a threat to us. Second, they aren’t spies Tony; they’re Assassins.”</p>
<p>“Right,” he snorts. “That makes it so much better.”</p>
<p>“Not like that. The Order of Assassins, or sometimes they’re called the Brotherhood of Assassins. They’re the originals, with a big ‘A’ in the name. A secretive organization that dates back farther than the term ‘assassination’.”</p>
<p>“And then some,” the leader cuts in. “I suppose I should properly introduce myself. My name is Sarah Drake. Master Assassin and current leader of this little rescue mission. This is Carter Bright,” she gestures to the man beside her. “And you know Disciple Parker already.”</p>
<p>“Kind of surprised you’ve heard of us,” Carter addresses Nat. “But we can deal with that later. We need to give you a rundown of what’s happening right now.”</p>
<p>“You’ve been missing for a grand total of twelve hours,” Sarah starts. “We’ll get to who took you later, but right now you need to know that we’re taking you to a safe location in order to trade information. You’ll be getting your stuff back there, too. After that, we’ll see where we stand.”</p>
<p>The van eventually stops completely, and the engine shuts off. There’re five taps in a distinct pattern on the outside of the van before Carter opens the door. As Tony steps out, he can tell he’s in a warehouse. Metal garage doors and rafters above him. Along with concrete walls. He looks out one of the windows and sees large buildings.<br/>

</p><p>“Are we still in the city?”</p>
<p>“You weren’t,” Sarah replies. “You were on the edge of the state, but this was still best place to bring you.”</p>
<p>“C’mon,” Carter waves at everyone as he walks up the stairs from the loading area. “We’d better meet with everyone else.”</p>
<p>He goes through a couple of metal gates, past a few stacks of boxes and starts climbing up a set of metal stairs. The whole time, he and Nat are surrounded by the five Assassins. His intern is right next to him, unusually quiet. That silence from him unnerves Stark more and more with each passing second. The two Assassins in front open up a pair of metal doors at the top of the stairs. As Tony walks through, there’s almost an immediate change.</p>
<p>Expertly painted walls, ornate finishing on the wood trim. It looks like a piece of an old Italian mansion. Part of it reminds him of the summer home he used to go to with his mom, back when he was younger. Some of the good memories he has of his childhood are from that place. Those memories, however, just bring him through a long loop of stray thoughts that lead to a bunker in Siberia. He stops himself from cringing at that.</p>
<p>They keep walking down a hallway until it opens up into a room that has Tony at least a little impressed. It looks like something akin to a war room. On one side is a wall full of tac boards, with pictures and strings and various paper pinned on. Along that same wall are a collection of tables with papers strewn across them in what Tony would assume is the organized chaos he has in some parts of his own lab and office. On the other side, is a number of various screens displaying camera feeds, maps and what seems to be international news reports. Below them are a few computers set up and two interestingly teched out reclining chairs.</p>
<p>In the center of the room is a large round table with a map in the center. Nobody at the table is looking at it, though. Instead, the three men and two women are currently staring at the seven new people that have entered the room.</p>
<p>“I mean,” Tony starts off with his usual bluster. “This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting from an ancient society of Assassins, but it’s a nice setup.”<br/>
“And what, exactly, were you expecting?” A semi-familiar blonde man addresses the billionaire.</p>
<p>“Oh, more torches and brick,” Stark waves his hand around the area. “Less lighting. More chanting in Latin or another stereotypical language. You already have the deep hooded uniforms going for you. It’s good to see you, by the way, Mr. Snarky Brit.” He turns to another member of the circle. “And you too, Rebecca.”</p>
<p>“Sup Stark?” Rebecca Crane smiles back. “How was the ride?”</p>
<p>“A bit bumpy, but the company was nice enough.”</p>
<p>“I take it that you’ve been informed of who we are?” Shaun Hastings speaks up again.</p>
<p>“Just the SparkNotes,” the Avenger shrugs. “I could use the full story later.”</p>
<p>“And you’ll get it,” another member of the group cuts in. “But you should get cleaned up first. The other groups should be here after you’re done. They’ll have your weapons and everything else your captors took from you.”</p>
<p>“I need to make a call first,” Tony demands.</p>
<p>“To who?” An older member of the circle snips back.</p>
<p>“My fiance,” he glares. “Who else? Or would you rather she scrambles the National Guard and the remaining Avengers to track me down?”</p>
<p>“I’ll get MJ on the phone,” Rebecca says. “We’ve had her stay near Pepper while this whole thing has gone down, just in case something happened. If anyone were to target them, she should be able to get them to safety and report to us if it does.”</p>
<p>Another weight leaves Tony Stark's shoulders as he waits by Rebecca as she takes out a flip phone.</p>
<p>“Ms. Romanoff,” the younger of the two unknown men addresses the spy. “You can go on ahead and get cleaned up. There should be a few changes of clothes in the room we’ll take you to. Come back out here when you’re done.”<br/>
 </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For those of you who haven't already, you can check out the previous two parts in the series to find out a lot of the changes I've made in the two universes. And read some of the other fics on my profile while you're at it. Comment your thoughts on things if you'd like. No matter how far back I might have posted the chapter, I enjoy reading what people have to say.</p>
<p>Questions, comments, concerns, jokes, ideas, and anything in between. Just be respectful.</p>
<p>Feel free to continue giving me suggestions. I have a basic plot and outline, but I'm always happy to add anything that might catch my eye.</p>
<p>Comment and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nat explains her knowledge. We meet a familiar face. Tony and Peter talk it out a little.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 3</p><p>After Tony got his phone call he went to get cleaned up. Nat passed him in the hall as she was leaving the room. The relief underneath all of the stress on his face shows her that Pepper is doing just fine. She heads back to the main room to get the interrogation they probably have for her out of the way.</p><p>As she expected, they have a seat waiting for her at the now cleared off round table. She calmly takes sits as seven sets of eyes stare her down.</p><p>“Ms. Romanoff,” the oldest of the group glares her down.</p><p>“You know my name,” she calmly meets his gaze. “I think it would be nice to know yours.”</p><p>“Maybe later,” his expression doesn’t change. “For now, we need answers. My companions tell me you know about the Order?”</p><p>“The SparkNotes,” she smirks.</p><p>“I’m not exactly in a joking mood, Natalia Romanova,” the man responds. “If you care about the Parker boy’s safety like these two say you do, we need to know about any and all security breaches in our organization.”</p><p>A twinge of anger goes through Nat at the mention of her <em>Little Spider</em>. She settles her own glare at the man. “I’d choose your next words very carefully, Assassin.”</p><p>The man opens her mouth to make what would’ve probably been another stupid comment, when he’s cut off by a raise of a hand to his left.</p><p>“Dad, please,” a younger looking man, with a slight resemblance, sighs. “This is supposed to be a debriefing, not an interrogation. She’s not the enemy here. Just go wait for the rest of the members to get here.”</p><p>It looks like the father wants to protest, but he just lets out his own exhale of breath. “Fine.”</p><p>As the grating man leaves the room, his son sits down at the table. A slight movement of the cloak he’s wearing shows something that Nat hadn’t noticed. His right arm. She thought that it was just out of the sleeve and inside of the cloak itself. Instead, she realizes that it’s missing. At least at the elbow, if not more. He must’ve noticed Natasha’s glance, because he addresses it.</p><p>“Casualty of war,” he rolls his right shoulder. “It was worth it; in case you’re wondering. Now, let’s get on with this. My name is Desmond Miles. I’m one of the leaders of the Order of Assassins. Don’t take what my dad says too hard. He’s very protective of the Order, and he means well. Just tends to act without considering other people’s feelings sometimes. Now, if you would be so inclined, could you tell us how you heard about us?”</p><p>“The Red Room,” she frowns at the memories the name brings up. “We learned infiltration, stealth, combat, and assassination. We also learned about similar organizations. Competition, they called you and the others. Threat levels, motivations, known involvement, combat patterns, any and all we could get our hands on. How to counter and take you down should we meet you in the field. The Assassins had very little information in our records. We had a few sightings and known involvement in events leading back to the Crusades, but that lack of knowledge, despite being around for so long, made me curious. You left an impression that’s stayed until today.”</p><p>“And you had no suspicions about the kids?” Desmond continues the questions.</p><p>She laughs a bit. “I knew they were trained by someone, but not who it was. Their takedowns were familiar, but I’d figured that it was an organization that I’d encountered in more recent times. Maybe some surviving members of the Chaste. They had a temporary resurgence in the underworld a while ago, before being wiped out, and they were known to recruit young.”</p><p>“And you didn’t look any harder?”</p><p>“I don’t have the resources and contacts I did before the SHIELD dump and the Accords. Besides, they’re good kids, and I knew they weren’t there to hurt me, Tony, the Avengers, or even Stark Industries. I kept it in the back of my mind, but what I had was enough unless I stumbled on anything new.”</p><p>“Well, Ms. Romanoff,” Desmond smiles. “I want to trust you, and I think I can. Peter and Michelle have spoken highly of you. At this time, though, I think it’s more important that you trust us. So, if you have any questions, I and my companions will answer them if we can.”</p><p>***</p><p>Tony almost runs into Peter as he leaves the guest room. Peter, once again without a word, tries to turn and leave, avoiding meeting Tony’s gaze.</p><p>“Pete, wait, please.”</p><p>He pauses, and Stark catches up with him.</p><p>“Kid. Talk to me. You were quiet the entire ride over, and I can understand that. But now that we’re here, we need to do something about the elephant in the room. Even with my complete stupidity when it comes to anything emotional, I can see you’re struggling with something. Please, you can talk to me.”</p><p>Peter looks in his mentor’s eyes, his lower lip trembling. Then, he just breaks down into sobs.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he hiccups. “I’m sorry, Mr. Stark.”</p><p>Tony’s hugging him, rubbing the back of his head. “Hey, hey. It’s okay. Just let it out.”</p><p>They stay like that for what seems like an eternity, each sob causing a twinge in the older inventor’s heart. Eventually, the crying fades out. They stay like that for a few more seconds before Peter pulls away slightly to rub his eyes.</p><p>“M’ sorry,” he sniffles a bit.</p><p>“It’s alright, kiddo,” Tony smiles softly.</p><p>“But I’ve been lying to you,” the kid looks at his mentor with eyes threatening to spill over again. “I’ve been lying and keeping secrets from you for over two years! You’ve trusted me with so much, and I’ve just been terrible to you. You should be mad. I-I’m just as bad as Steve Rogers. I’d understand if you hated me.”</p><p>“Nope. Let me stop you right there,” Stark frowns. “There are a lot of things to unpack from that statement, but let’s start with this. Do you know what the secret is that Cap kept from me?” The crying vigilante shakes his head. Tony exhales, slightly relieved. “Well, it was something very personal. Something that directly affected me. This,” he waves his hand around at the Assassin base. “Although it might have nice to know about, and threw me for a loop, isn’t that. I don’t know much about this entire organization, but this secret doesn’t seem like something I can get too mad about. Suspicious, sure. Upset, a little. Curious, hell yeah. But not mad. Any issues I might have can be dealt with at a later date. Most importantly, and I can’t stress this enough, I don’t think I could ever hate you. Got it?”</p><p>Peter nods, then squeezes Tony with another hug.</p><p>“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”</p><p>“Any time, kid.”<br/> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yes. Desmond Lives. Because I said so. There might be one or two other changes that I show. Have fun with them.</p><p>His dad isn't the best at thinking about others. He's not a bad guy, though.</p><p>Also, I don't speak any language other than English. Therefore, there will be very little foreign speaking in this fic. Any that does happen will be from Google translate and what little I retained from high school Spanish.</p><p>Comment and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tony gets caught up to speed, they take another short trip, and the Templars underestimate their enemies again.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 4</p><p>	“So,” Tony looks around at the other people at the table, housing unit and other items now safely on his person and distress signal deactivated. “You’re a super-secret international shadow organization, fighting another super-secret shadow organization. You’re both trying to collect artifacts that are remnants of an ancient and forgotten humanoid race. Finally, you,” he points at Desmond. “Are responsible for stopping the massive wave of solar flares from razing the Earth that was detected back in 2012 and causing the global aurora that resulted from it, all by using a barrier system hooked into a bunch of buildings that were created by these highly advanced ‘Precursors’. Buildings, I might add, that have evaded detection and discovery by some of the most advanced scanning technology on the planet.”</p><p>	“That about sums it up now, doesn’t it,” Shaun nods.</p><p>	“Got the gist of it,” Rebecca agrees. “And we can fill you in on the other details as we go.”</p><p>	“Okay,” Stark nods. “Sounds far-fetched, but I’ve met a Norse god and fought aliens before, so it’s still believable. Next question. Why did your big bad Templar friends want Nat and I? We’re valuable, but not necessarily in a way that would benefit anyone who doesn’t want the world to hunt them down and expose their dirty laundry. A little high risk, don’t you think?”</p><p>	“Best guess, they’re changing up their MO.”</p><p>	Stark turns in his chair to look at the only one in the room who hasn’t said anything the entire time he’s been here. A nice looking and calm blonde woman. She’s going through papers on one of the desks.</p><p>	“I don’t believe you introduced yourself,” Tony raises an eyebrow at the woman.</p><p>	“Lucy Stillman,” she replies without looking up. “I’m the local expert at the Templar organization and its inner workings.”</p><p>	“That’s one way to put it,” William Miles snorts.</p><p>	He receives glares from most of the room, while those not glaring at him avoid his gaze.</p><p>	“Okay,” Stark drawls. “Sensing underlying tension here, but I think we can table that for at least a few minutes so that we can hear what she has to say.”</p><p>	Lucy sighs. “Just like the leadership of the Assassins, the Council that controls the Templars has slowly shifted their thoughts and strategies for achieving their goals. The Assassins have stopped simply killing everyone who gets in their way and have started trying to expose the wrongdoings and get the Templars arrested, if they can. Not as effective, sometimes, but it helps others see the truth about a lot of the more power-hungry members of their organization and keeps the Assassins in the shadows. Murder of high-profile individuals tends to cause more waves nowadays. The Templars have started to branch away from the Precursor artifacts. It’s still their main focus, of course, they have started to try and find other means of control. They started with brainwashing and conditioning. Their expertise in neural science and psychology help to a great degree in that, but something that has come about in the last decade has caused another slow shift in their mindset.”</p><p>	“And what’s that?” Tony shows a small amount of interest.</p><p>	“Think about it,” Lucy stands up from her own chair. “What other things can you think of that have appeared in the last decade, even the past few years, that are publicly known to be effective at controlling other people’s thoughts and actions.”</p><p>	She walks out of the room, but not before flipping off William Miles.</p><p>	It doesn’t take long for the two Avengers to think of a couple of examples.</p><p>	“Well, fuck,” Tony groans. “Nat, can you get in contact with Wanda?”</p><p>	“Turned off her communicator about a week ago,” she responds. “What about Vision?”</p><p>	“Transponder was turned off about the same time,” he sighs. “Which means they’re probably together. Any idea where they might be?”</p><p>	“No,” she gives him a level look. “But you and I both know someone who does.”</p><p>	Tony Stark purses his lips. “I can’t, Nat. Not him.”</p><p>	“Tony, I know,” her eyes turn sympathetic. “But this just got a whole lot bigger than that. Please.”</p><p>	“Fine,” he digs around in his pocket for the flip phone before tossing it to his companion. “But you’re calling him. You’ll at least hold back from cussing him out until after we get a location.”</p><p>	She flips it open and starts the phone ringing, before walking out of the room with it to her ear.</p><p>	“Mr. Stark,” Peter walks up. “What just happened?”</p><p>	“Kid. Wanda is a telepath, capable of manipulating minds. Did so not only with close to every single Avenger, but also with multiple other people throughout the world. The stone in Vision’s head is not only what gave her those powers, but is also the core to the scepter Loki used to take control of those SHIELD agents during the Battle of New York. If I were looking for a way to forcibly control other people, especially if I wasn’t as picky about how I do it anymore, that’s where I’d start.”</p><p>***</p><p>	Vision drops the tenth assailant sent after him with a calculated punch. Wanda floats down next to him, just finished dealing with her own, slightly larger, group.</p><p>	The young woman focuses on the gash on Vision’s arm. Her hand hovers over it concern evident on her face.</p><p>	“You’re hurt,” she inhales.</p><p>	“Two of the men had very peculiar weapons,” he frowns while looking at the wound. “It managed to do a slight amount of harm despite my intangibility. I do believe I have another injury on the back of my leg.”</p><p>	“Do you think they are HYDRA?” She begins channeling her ability into the cut, mending it slowly.</p><p>	“I am not certain, but I believe it is time to leave. Shame, I was hoping to try my hand at breakfast again.”</p><p>	“No offense, Viz,” Wanda pats his cheek affectionately. “But I think you should stick to baking.”</p><p>***</p><p>	“Yeah… Got it… Glad to hear you’re alright… Next time, keep in contact, please… I’ll see you soon.”</p><p>	Natasha hangs up the flip phone. She leans back in her seat in the van with a sigh.</p><p>	“He got her?” Tony questions.</p><p>	“Found the two of them leaving Scotland,” she responds. “They’d taken down a large contingent of what I will assume are Templars. That was her I was talking to actually. They’re fine, but Vision has a couple of injuries. They seemed to be using some interesting tech.”</p><p>	“Precursor technology,” William Miles tells them. “Or at least weapons and items based on or around it. The Templars have had a pretty good monopoly on the artifacts for the past few decades. We’ve started to gain ground in the past few years, but it’s been slower than we’d like.”</p><p>	“They won’t give up,” Lucy adds. “They’ll just change strategies. Try something different. More weapons, more Templars, or even a more indirect approach.”</p><p>“But we’ll be ready for them.” Stark tells the two of them. He nods towards the two recliners. “So those are the memory chairs. The Animus? Animuses? I’m sorry, what’s the plural of it?”</p><p>	“Either Animus or Animi,” Shaun responds from the front. “It’s not exactly a common word, so we tend to accept either.”</p><p>	“Thanks. So, these Animi tap into a human’s genetic memory, let you live the lives of your ancestors.”</p><p>	“Basically,” Rebecca confirms. “You need a specific DNA sequence, as well as a match from a descendant. Then, the synchronicity of the match depends on the individual.”</p><p>	“Any side effects?”</p><p>	“Nothing too bad. They have to get used to their body again, different heights, weights, muscle density, and flexibility. Peter is especially susceptible to that because of his enhancements. Takes a bit of moving around and exercise. And we’ve been lowering the translation software to increase synchronicity and help the subjects learn the language, so switching back to your native language is difficult, but no more than people who are normally fluent with multiple languages. Maybe a slight change in their personalities from living another person’s life, but studies have shown that the change is negligible.”</p><p>	Nat squints at Peter, a smirk on her face. “Is this how you managed to improve your Spanish grade so quickly?”</p><p>	“It’s not like it still wasn’t difficult,” Peter pouts. “Do you know how much the dialects changed from the Spanish Inquisition to now? And I know Italian now, too. It was a pain trying to keep the two languages separate at first.”</p><p>	“So, just a little wonky legged and a language barrier?” Stark frowns. “I feel like there should be more than that if you’re delving that far into someone’s head.”</p><p>	“There used to be,” Desmond glares at the ground. “Hallucinations, mental breaks, loss of reality, even comatose.”</p><p>	“It’s why we hadn’t been using it for so long,” Rebecca explains, handing Stark a tablet. “Years went by. That was until we stumbled on a very particular piece of tech that managed to stabilize what we called the ‘Bleeding Effect’. You might recognize it.”</p><p>	As the billionaire scrolls through the tablet, his frown deepens. “Of course, I recognize it. It’s Stark tech. How’d you get your hands on the BARF specs? They aren’t public knowledge, or even being sold. The applications were deemed too dangerous. Hell, I hadn’t even let Peter have access to it.”</p><p>	“Hacked into Abstergo’s mainframe,” Rebecca smiles. “You really should work on patching up the leaks in your company, and making sure that the people you fire respect their non-disclosure agreements.”</p><p>	“Abstergo,” Stark snorts. “Knew there was something suspicious about them. Thought they had some shady dealings, but never thought one of the largest companies in the consumer world was actually just a front for something like this. Didn’t like their TVs, anyway.”</p><p>	“We’re here, Stark,” a call comes from Shaun.</p><p>	“Just keep going through,” Tony responds. “You’ve got guest permission.”</p><p>	A minute later, the rhythmic tapping pattern comes through the outside of the now stopped vehicle. Everyone piles out and starts carrying supplies into the Compound. Inside they’re met with some familiar faces.</p><p>	“My god, boss,” Happy Hogan exhales in relief. “You are never going for a walk without me again.”</p><p>	“I can’t leave you alone for anything, can I?” Pepper raises an accusatory eyebrow.</p><p>	“And here I thought you’d be happy to see me,” Tony gives his trademark smile at his fiancé.</p><p>	As they get closer, she just wraps her arms around him. All of the tension leaves his body as he melts into her.</p><p>	“Thank you,” she sighs. “When you didn’t pick up my calls, I thought I’d lost you again.”</p><p>	Peter has his own little reunion while all of this is going on.</p><p>	“Dude,” Ned and he do their handshake. “How was the mission?”</p><p>	“Not bad,” the Spidery Disciple smirks. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but I thought that it was only going to be Pepper and MJ coming.”</p><p>	“MJ and May had Happy pick me up as soon as they both realized that Mr. Stark being gone was related to the Templars.”</p><p>	“Hey, Ned!” Rebecca calls. “C’mon. I could use an extra set of hands setting up.”</p><p>	“Coming,” Ned runs over to take a box of supplies and follow her.</p><p>	Everyone else begins filing out, except for Peter and one other person. He can feel his heart start to pick up pace as he looks at MJ. She walks up, pursing her lips, a bit of concern in her eyes.</p><p>	“Are you okay?”</p><p>	“I’m fine,” Peter scratches the back of his head awkwardly. “We didn’t actually do any fighting. I was only escorting Mr. Stark and Nat.”</p><p>	“That’s not what I meant,” she takes a step closer. “Our worlds are colliding now. It was really difficult for me to explain everything to Pepper and Happy, even with May and Ned here to support me. Are you and Stark okay?”</p><p>	He nods. “We had a small talk about it. He seemed understanding. I actually think we might be able to work out any issues we might have.”</p><p>	A small smile appears on the girl’s face, causing Peter’s breath to leave him for a moment. Then, MJ’s taking him by the arm, and his brain turns to mush.</p><p>	“C’mon,” she starts pulling him along. “I want to see Rebecca’s reaction to setting up in one of Stark’s labs.”<br/> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>She's alive!</p><p>I liked Lucy, and I think she deserves a bit more than just a death scene brought upon by a perceived betrayal from a vision by a being with an obviously ulterior motive. Of course, there's still going to be tension due to her loyalties still being questioned, but I'll be explaining some of that at a later date.</p><p>Oh, look. I fixed the Animus using video game and movie logic. Have fun with it.</p><p>Not very good at any sort of romance, but I'll still be trying for it.</p><p>Comments and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A bit of fluff. A very important character is reintroduced. Ross gets his ass handed to him. The plot advances.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The most difficult part about writing is having the beginning and major points of the plot but not being able to put them into words on paper. Writers block, busy schedules, and good old fashioned procrastination. Hope you enjoy the chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 5</p><p>	“Alright,” Carter sighs helping rearrange a piece of tech in one of the spare labs at the Compound. “I gotta know what’s going on between Michelle and Peter.”</p><p>	“Nothing,” Rebecca replies, smiling.</p><p>	“And it’s the most frustrating nothing I’ve had to experience in years,” Ned groans.</p><p>	“Seriously?” Carter’s eyes widen. “I mean, I could see them pining after each other during the first month I was training with them, and that was two years ago.”</p><p>	“I’d like to let you know that it wasn’t for lack of trying on my and Pepper’s part that they haven’t gotten together,” Tony joins the discussion. “We’ve had ‘mix ups’ in seating at restaurants, had them sitting next to each other on long business flights, and done pretty much everything we could think of short of tying them both to a chair and forcing them to admit their feelings. Even Nat has them doing grappling drills together.”</p><p>	“That one won’t work,” Rebecca tells him. “They’re actually pretty good at setting aside any personal feelings while they’re training. They are getting closer, though. MJ’s been picking up on Peter’s underlying feelings, even if she might be second guessing herself. Peter, on the other hand, is probably keeping himself from being a stuttering mess through a mix of sheer willpower and the experiences he’s had as Ezio Auditore in the Animus.”</p><p>	“What’s that got to do with anything?” Tony asks.</p><p>	“Ezio is a legend amongst Assassins,” Carter answers. “And Peter has the highest synchronicity rate amongst the Order since Desmond. Other than his more notable achievements, Ezio Auditore was a known ladies’ man. Cool and confident. Peter’s probably been trying to emulate him to some degree in order to keep himself from self-destructing around Michelle.”</p><p>	Tony is about to open his mouth to continue the gossiping session when FRIDAY comes over the speaker.</p><p>	“Boss, I would like to inform you that protocol Silent Spider will initiate soon.”</p><p>	Rebecca raises her eyebrow in a silent question.</p><p>	“Pete’s hearing can pick up and differentiate voices through multiple floors and walls if he is so inclined to listen,” Stark explains. “I needed to make sure that when I was having a private conversation that I knew when he was far enough away to keep him from eavesdropping. He’s probably coming back with Ms. Jones from showing our guests their rooms.”</p><p>	A few minutes of silent and studious installation by the tech brigade, and the two teenagers in question walk through the sliding door.</p><p>	“Everyone settled in?” Tony asks his intern.</p><p>	“Yeah,” Peter nods. “Do you need any help?”</p><p>	“Almost done,” Tony waves him off. “You can go work on your other projects if you want.” He studies the boy a little more, glancing at his back. “You know, kid, you could’ve left your bag in your room.”</p><p>	“I wanted to introduce the bots to someone,” he declares, walking over to the robots who raised their claws up questioningly.</p><p>	Tony is also fairly confused, but he looks around and sees that the only other person who shares his feelings is Carter. Ned takes a moment to process things before his smiles widens, openly excited for what’s about to transpire. Rebecca has a small smirk on her face as Peter pulls a round thing out of his bag.</p><p>	“You brought Stabby,” Rebecca sighs, smile not leaving her face.</p><p>	“Stabby?” Tony says. “And is that a Roomba?”</p><p>	“He’s Stabby the Roomba-ssassin,” Ned declares triumphantly. Then, looking at Peter. “I can’t believe you brought him.”</p><p>	“I’ve wanted to introduce him to the other bots for a while, but we couldn’t really do that when Mr. Stark didn’t know about the Assassins. It would’ve brought up too many questions.”</p><p>	Stabby, now active, is currently having a conversation of beeps and faces on his screen with the other bots. MJ and Rebecca try their best to look exasperated, but can’t keep the smiles off of their faces.</p><p>	“You know what,” Tony sighs, rubbing his face. “After the day I’ve had, I’m not even going to question this. Just keep him in the lab and out from under anyone’s feet.”</p><p>	“Yes,” Peter pumps his fist triumphantly.</p><p>***</p><p>	“Stark. Care to inform us where you’ve been for the past day?”</p><p>	“Not particularly, Ross.”</p><p>	Tony gives his best grin at the Secretary of State and the assembled presidential cabinet. The quality of the holo-projection is good enough that the Avenger can pretty much see the veins popping on the annoying official’s forehead.</p><p>	“You disappear for almost twenty-four hours,” the government official grinds his teeth. “And come back with no explanation whatsoever, and you expect us to just accept that.”</p><p>	“Yep,” the smug billionaire pops.</p><p>	“That is unacceptable!”</p><p>	“It’s actually completely acceptable,” Natasha steps into view. “You aren’t a part of the Accords Council, or the committee, anymore. The Avengers are also an international task-force, not an American one, so you have no authority. Unless you’ve got Everett Ross or one of the other members of the Council with you in that room, we don’t owe you anything.”</p><p>	Tony has a wide and genuine smile at this point. “And on that note-.” He waves his hand, cutting off the feed. He turns to look at his partner in crime. “That was fun.”</p><p>	“We are going to be hearing about this later,” Nat tells her friend, smile on her face as well.</p><p>	“They’ll contact the Council, but as long as they don’t have any proof that we were doing anything Avengers related, or that we went out of the country without notifying them, then they don’t have anything.”</p><p>	“Good thing we didn’t. Legally, they have nothing to pin on us.”</p><p>	“Rhodey’s probably getting a lot of shit right now. He’s still in DC.”</p><p>	“He’ll be back in a couple of days,” Pepper walks into the room. “And our other ‘guests’ have had their rooms cleaned and prepared for them. They said they’d be here in a few days?”</p><p>	“They’ll be taking a less direct route,” Natasha explains. “Keeps them out of United States airspace for as long as possible. Three of them still aren’t allowed on US soil, and two are still technically war criminals; even if most of the agencies couldn’t care less about trying to find them without someone breathing down their necks.”</p><p>	“How is Thaddeus Ross still in office?” Tony groans as he plops into the seat behind him.</p><p>	“Bribes, threats, blackmail, and being a high-ranking military leader,” Nat shrugs. “You know, normal politics. Probably won’t last through the next election, even if Ellis gets a second term.”</p><p>	Peter peeks his head around the door. “Is the jerk gone?”</p><p>	“Yes,” Tony smiles at his kid. “Are you certain he’s not a Templar?”</p><p>	“We’re sure,” Ned bounces into the doorway after Peter, followed by Michelle. “He shares similar ideals, and he’s been seen consorting with known Templars, but he’s not one of them.”</p><p>	“Makes him even more dangerous, if you ask me,” Michelle frowns. “Less predictable.”</p><p>	Natasha nods approvingly at the girl’s assessment.</p><p>	“So, Ms. Jones,” Tony raises an eyebrow at her. “I assume you’ve come here for a reason.”</p><p>	“Strategy meeting,” she tells him. “Trying to figure out Their motives and our next move. We want you there.”</p><p>	“Lead the way,” he motions towards the door.</p><p>***</p><p>	“Well Stark, we figured out the reasons why you both were kidnapped.”</p><p>	That was not what he was expecting to hear when he came in. Usually, these things take at least a week to sort out. Wow, these Assassins work fast.</p><p>	Natasha takes it all in stride, plopping down in an empty chair and propping her feet up on the table in the conference room.</p><p>	“Okay,” Tony takes his own seat, happy that they left him one at the head of the table. “How did you manage to do that, and why did they want us?”</p><p>	“We’ve had people infiltrating the Templars for years,” Rebecca brushes off the first question. “Nobody far enough into their inner circle for large amounts of intel, but we can get information on high profile stuff like this.”</p><p>	“And the why?”</p><p>	At that, a tablet is slid across the table to him. He catches it. On it is a picture of Vision, scrolling down a bit he sees a picture of his latest arc reactor.</p><p>	“You created the Vision,” Desmond explains. “You also managed to create and stabilize your own element. They believe that your engineering ability can help them in making devices to harness the power from the stone in the Vision’s forehead and in the Precursor artifacts they’ve been able to acquire over the centuries.”</p><p>	“So, they wanted me to build weapons,” Tony rolls his eyes. “Predictable. Besides, I didn’t even build Vision. I know it’s not public knowledge, but Ultron and Doctor Cho were the ones who created him. Thor, Bruce, and I just encoded my previous AI into the body and gave him a little bit of a jump-start.”</p><p>	“Well, nobody actually knows that, but the arc reactor comment still stands,” Lucy joins the conversation. “Other than that, there’s also the grudge that they have against the two of you specifically.”</p><p>	“What grudge?”</p><p>	“When you left the weapons trade and dipped into medical and consumer tech, you shot up to become the largest competitor to Abstergo in those fields. They use their business to expand their influence and have even used it to monitor people and further their own agendas. Kind of became a thorn in their side when everyone started wanting the latest Stark phone and tablet over their Abstergo brand.”</p><p>	“Okay,” Tony nods. “I understand that I will always be a pain in the ass to other corporate billionaires. Especially those with not so nice motives. It’s a gift. Despite that, I don’t see how Nat would be involved unless they felt some sort of insecurity in competing with her for greatest spy.”</p><p>	“It was the SHIELD dump,” Shaun decides to put in his two cents. “Although it wasn’t the safest move on your part, exposing HYDRA in that way was probably the best you could do with the resources you had access to. As a consequence, you also caused the public to be more apt to believe in the government conspiracies that people have been spouting of the better part of the century. The Templars literally invented capitalism, and people are starting to care about the blatant corruption that comes with that system, as well as the people behind that corruption. Abstergo and their affiliates have had to move cautiously because of it, allowing the Assassins to gain ground in this uphill battle. Ms. Romanoff, you and Mr. Rogers indirectly put the Templars in the spotlight more than almost any Assassin since Ezio or Altair. Congratulations.”</p><p>	“Now that we’ve gotten everyone up to speed,” William Miles cuts in. “It’s time to get back to the real reason we’re here. We’ve figured out the Templar’s next target.”</p><p>	“And it’s a fun one,” Rebecca grins. “FRIDAY, be a dear and pull up the map please.”</p><p>	“Of course, Ms. Crane,” the AI responds.</p><p>A holographic globe appears in the middle of the table. On it, are markers showing the Assassin symbol dotting the entire world. They wouldn’t be bases, so Tony only has one guess as to what they are.</p><p>“These are those ‘temples’ you were talking about,” the man studies the screen. “The ones you used to activate that barrier against the solar flares.”</p><p>“Partially right,” Desmond confirms. “That what it initially showed, but we’ve been updating it since then. With the securing of the Grand Temple, and all of the information that it holds, the Assassins are attempting to uncover other Precursor sites that may have survived through time. There’s barely been any progress, but we have advantages that the Templars don’t, and there’s all but a guaranteed confirmation at,” he moves the hologram and points at a specific mark. “This location. From what we have gathered, it’s the most likely place for Abstergo, and by extension the Templars, to attempt to expand to next.”</p><p>Both Natasha and Tony are on their feet at that. They know that area, a relatively remote area in Eastern Africa. There wouldn’t have been anything worth note there until about a year ago now, however…</p><p>“It’ll be another few weeks until all preparations are complete,” Desmond addresses everyone in the room. “After that, we’ll need to head to Wakanda to figure out what we can do to assist them in the inevitable case of the Templars targeting them.”<br/> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Rebecca and FRIDAY would become fast friends, and Stabby will have more than one cameo now that I have him. Comic relief or a major plot mover, not sure yet.</p><p>There's something deeper about Wakanda that people might not be able to guess.</p><p>Comment and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A bit of bonding and explanations.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There are a couple of possible ships I've inserted into this chapter. I'll probably use them later in the story, but for now they won't be in the tags because they're just a brief mention of them.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 6</p><p>	Lucy hits the bag again. Letting it swing from the blow for a few moments before steadying it and getting back into stance. A few more heavy punches send it back into its pendulum like motion and having her repeat the process. It’s frustrating, but everybody who she can ask for help are busy. Rebecca and Shaun need to watch the kids while they dive into the Animus. Desmond would be happy to, but he’s also busy coordinating with Stark and the recently returned members of the Avengers. Speaking of them, there’s definitely some tension and unresolved problems, but after that knockdown drag out fight a couple of years ago, that’s kind of expected. Given her own situation, she can understand. Setting up again, memories now resurfaced, she sends a full powered right punch into the bag. It lurches back on its hook before coming back towards the distracted Assassin. The hit knocks her off balance for a few moments before she rights herself, string of curses flowing freely from her mouth.</p><p>	“Need someone to hold it for you?”</p><p>	The woman whips around to find the source of the voice. When she sees it, she relaxes, but only slightly.</p><p>	“Ms. Romanoff, what brings you here?”</p><p>	“I usually come down here to destress after a particularly stressful meeting to unwind and get some steam out. After being in the room with two testosterone fueled heroes that refuse to sort things out, I really need it. Now, do you need me to hold the bag?”</p><p>	“I think I’m good on the punching bag,” Lucy decides. “But I was thinking of hitting the weights. We could spot each other?”</p><p>	“Sounds good.”</p><p>	They do their reps in almost complete silence. Even if she hasn’t been trusted to do field work in a while, Lucy has still kept up on her workouts and training. She stays pretty even with the legendary Black Widow. They swap off regularly, rarely having to change the weights. By the time they hit the showers, they’re both sweating and Lucy can tell that the woman next to her is feeling the same soreness in her muscles.</p><p>	“So,” Natasha Romanoff starts as the water automatically turns on for both of them. “How long have you been with the Assassins?”</p><p>	“My entire life,” Lucy responds honestly. “Born and raise into it.”</p><p>	“How long was it since you decided to come back from the Templars.”</p><p>	That question catches the Lucy off guard. She gives the spy a look.</p><p>	“I recognize the reactions of everyone around you,” the Widow explains. “When I first started working for SHIELD, everyone treated me the same way. I’m guessing you worked closely with Desmond, Rebecca, and Shaun. They seem to see you the same way that Clint did when he recruited me. So, wanna tell me what happened?”</p><p>	A deep and resigned exhale escapes from Lucy as the water continues to wash over her.</p><p>	“I was born in the Assassins,” she starts. “I grew up believing in their cause. Being trained to fight against Abstergo and the Templar threat. My teacher was even William Miles, one of the best in the business. I started to see him as a sort of father figure. When I was seventeen, I cut off all connection with the Assassins. The only contact I had was with William. He became my handler.”</p><p>	“You were building your cover,” Natasha nods in understanding. “Starting a deep infiltration operation.”</p><p>	“I did everything right. Attended college, got all of the right degrees, and made all of the right ‘mistakes’ in my thinking to draw the Templar’s attention and interest. All the while, I’d sent monthly status updates to William Miles. I made sure to tell him how well I was doing, and every time he’d respond, I’d get excited, hoping for some sort of encouragement or congratulations. All I’d get was a rote message that could’ve been pre-recorded. The only time I’d get any variation from the normal confirmation of retrieval is when he’d see some sort of flaw in how I was doing things. No emotion except to correct me. I didn’t even receive any sort of ‘good job’ or ‘well done’ from him when Abstergo finally picked me up.”</p><p>	“Looking back, I realize that the lack of emotion and shortness of his messages were to protect the Order and myself from interception, but I’d started to feel like he didn’t actually care at all. That I was just a tool to keep the war going, and to protect his power and influence. ‘My trainee has successfully infiltrated Abstergo’ or something like that. I’d finally had enough of the lack of caring from someone I’d thought saw me like a daughter, someone who I’d thought was just using me for his own benefit. I went to my superiors at Abstergo and confessed to everything. They turned it around and told me that they’d already known. They’d been feeding me intel to pass along to the Assassins. Small things, to distract from their bigger plans. When I told them, they told me that I was finally ready to become one of them. I became a double agent. Continuing to feed intel to the Assassins but also letting the Templars use my knowledge and access to Assassin data to keep one step ahead of most of the Assassin cells. For years, I’d done terrible things. Assisting in the manipulation of the Order and convincing members to enter the Animus just to drive them into insanity, just to help the Templars with their goals. But the Templar Council, and my superiors, were openly encouraging. I finally had the attention and thoughtfulness that I’d always wanted from the Assassins, from William Miles. It felt good to be recognized for my achievements.”</p><p>	“My handlers back at the Red Room gave me the occasional ‘well done’ or ‘excellent work, Widow’.” the experienced former Red Room agent replies. It was used on the younger agents and trainees to instill a sort of maternal connection to keep us in line.”</p><p>	“Yeah,” Lucy turns morose again. “Then, we’d stumbled upon a man. A run-away from the Order of Assassins. One with the DNA sequence we needed to replace another Subject that had committed suicide. When I saw the name, I’d almost laughed. Desmond Miles, bartender in New York City.” She lets out a small huff. “We’d developed a plan. Catch him; then, if his mental state begins to deteriorate, I help him ‘escape’ and meet up with the Assassins to continue his progress in the Animus. Everything went according to plan, but something changed.”</p><p>	“What?” Natasha is now pretty engrossed in the story.</p><p>	“I did,” she smiles. “The only contact I’d had with the Assassins for years was my messages to William. When I started talking with Rebecca and Shaun, planning Desmond’s evacuation, I’d realized that the Order was different than I’d initially thought. When I finally met them and actually talked with Desmond, I realized that he was nothing like his father. I started caring about him as more than just a Subject or target or even teammate. Then, we found the artifact we were looking for.”</p><p>	“That thing that they used to open up the Grand Temple,” Natasha scrubs her hair out.</p><p>	“The Apple of Eden. The first item taken by the humans from the Precursors. The Assassins needed it to save the world, while the Templars wanted to hook it into their satellite array to take control of the minds of the people. It was my job to take the Apple from them and deliver it to the Templars, but as I saw the artifact, as I remembered everything that happened that got to that point, I realized that I never actually believed in the Templar cause.”</p><p>	“You were just trying to get back at William Miles,” Romanoff nods in understanding. “A more extreme young rebellion against a father figure.”</p><p>	“I still did terrible things to so many people. Both Assassins and innocent civilians. Nearly died when one of the Precursors took control of Desmond and he stabbed me with the hidden blade. I deserved that, and I deserve the looks I’m being given, but I’m doing what I can to try to make up for what I did. I don’t ever expect to be forgiven, not entirely, but the most painful part of all of it is actually the looks I got from Desmond when I first woke up from my coma. I started thinking something was there, but I’m sure I ruined any chance I had.”</p><p>	They finish off their showers in contemplative silence. As they head out, fresh and changed into clean clothes, the Black Widow finally speaks up.</p><p>	“You know, I had someone like that. A man who saw me as more than just a pretty face, more than just a spy or a killer. More than just a tool. I thought there might have been a future there, too.”</p><p>	Lucy gives her a curious look. “What happened?”</p><p>	“I prioritized the mission over my feelings. Pushed him off a ledge in order to trigger the Hulk. I don’t know where he is exactly, and I don’t know if he’s forgiven me for it. I don’t even know if I’ve fully come to terms with what I did, no matter how necessary it was at the time.” The super spy looks at her new friend. “I do know that the looks that Desmond gives you when you aren’t looking, and the glare he directed at his dad when he criticized you both show that he isn’t entirely over whatever you both might have felt. You might get back to it one day. I hope you do. Also, after this, I think you can call me Nat.”</p><p>***</p><p>	“Alright, there’s something I need to know. I get that Wakanda has a super secret Precursor Temple in their country. I also understand that they have a supply of the most versatile metal on the planet. I even get that any one of those things, as well as the multiple scientific advancements that the nation has achieved, would be a boon to any organization with a goal like the Templars. There’s just one thing I don’t get. Why do you think they’ll need our help?”</p><p>	Tony finishes his rant. It was something that had been building in his head since he’d heard their goal and destination. His stress and annoyance only intensified since Cap and his merry band returned. Now, he just has to get it out in the air.</p><p>	“The Templars are a global threat,” Shaun explains. “Even if they are based mainly in Europe and the Colonies, we still need to make sure to do everything that we can to combat them in other parts of the world.”</p><p>	“And I get that,” Stark steeples his fingers on the desk. “But Wakanda has been in a completely isolated state for pretty much since its founding. It’s pushed back any and all attempts to invade it. Even now that they’ve come out of the shadows, they’re still keeping almost everyone out of their borders, despite constant pressure from various governments and organizations around the world. I would think that a warning about Abstergo and a report on the Templar organization, as well as a trade-off of information on the Precursor Temples and artifacts would be all they’d need. I’m not entirely sure that we’d even be welcome there, threat or not.”</p><p>	“The reason we need to go is because the Templars are already in Wakanda.”</p><p>	It’s Michelle Jones, standing tall, tablet in hand; and exuding the calm confidence of the personal intern of the CEO of Stark Industries. Both Shaun and Rebecca look proud at her demeanor. It’s to be expected, though, they apparently have been raising her since she was a kid.</p><p>	“Mr. Stark,” William Miles steps into the conversation. “We’ve known Wakanda’s been hiding something for a few months before they announced it to the world. Were we aware that their advancements have gone this far, no, but we did have our suspicions. All of this, however, was because of Footpad Jones.”</p><p>	Rebecca picks up the conversation from there. “We’d intercepted a DNA sequence from the Templars. Its origin was from somewhere in Eastern Africa. I think the Wakandans call them ‘wardogs’. They send out some of their people to collect intelligence from outside and help the world at large, sometimes those people don’t come back. MJ is a descendant of the woman that the sequence originated from. It’s the person she’s been synchronizing with in the Animus.”</p><p>	“Wherever the Precursors have their buildings, they’ve given the humans surrounding them the genetic abilities that the Assassin have become known for,” Desmond explains. “But there are also bound to be people who want to use those buildings and artifacts to take control. That’s the origin of the Templars. In Michelle’s reports and feeds from the Animus, we’ve seen a similar mindset and organizations within the Wakandan nation. Also, based upon the intel we’ve received, there was an attempted uprising in that nation based upon that very same thought process that the Templars hold. We want to go there to give the Wakandans not only valuable information on the building on their soil, but also to give them the backup they might need when Abstergo eventually aligns its goals with those of this rival faction.”</p><p>	The weeks fly by with MJ doing some last-minute dives into the Animus, sifting through memories. She has to prepare for what’s about to happen. Peter’s next to her during the entire thing. Delving back into the memories of Altair. At least, what he can with the synchronicity he has. It’s nice coming out of her ancestor’s life to see him peacefully zoned out within arm’s reach. She thinks she can see something there, something between them, but right now isn’t the time nor the place to try to pursue it.</p><p>	Now, however, the group is flying across the Atlantic in a small fleet of quinjets. They’ve received the go-ahead from Wakanda and have informed the Accords Council of their travels. It’s a “collaboration between Stark Industries and the Wakandan nation” as well as some discussions between the current Avengers and the on-call member that is currently the King of Wakanda.</p><p>	Michelle, for her part, is equal parts nervous and excited, with a small amount of sadness and longing mixed in. She feels a presence sit down next to her as she stares out one of the reinforced glass windows, watching the tumbling waves far below.</p><p>	“Are you doing okay?” Peter asks, concern evident in his voice.</p><p>	“I guess,” she sighs.</p><p>	“Okay, now I know somethings wrong. There’s no way Michelle Jones would admit to being unsure.”</p><p>	She turns to look at her closest friend, smile gracing her face. Then, as quick as it comes, that amusement slips away. A larger sigh escapes from her lips.</p><p>	“It’s just,” she starts. “She wanted to go back so much. It was one of her greatest wishes, and with where we found the DNA sequence, I don’t know if she ever managed to. I can still feel her longing for her family, for her tribe, for the beautiful sunsets she saw when she was a little girl. I want to experience all of that myself, in some way, but I feel so conflicted knowing that it won’t be the same.”</p><p>	“Maybe,” Peter nods. “But maybe it doesn’t have to be. Sure, you won’t be able to experience the exact same things as you ancestor, but there are still some that you can see in her place. Maybe you can get permission to go to where she lived before. See some of the descendants of her sisters and brother. Watch the sunset. I’d actually like to do that with you. I think it’ll look a lot better in person than it does on the screen. Even with all of that, I think she’ll be happy for you, finally being able to see all of it.”</p><p>	She can feel emotion welling up in her throat. Pulling him into a hug, which he returns, they just stay like that for what feels like an eternity. She relaxes into his arms until the tears stop. Then, she pulls away, wiping her eyes.</p><p>	“Thank you.”</p><p>	“Anytime, Em.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Nat and Lucy are going to be best friends. They just seemed to bounce off of each other really well in my head. I hope you all agree.</p><p>Comment and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They finally make it to Wakanda</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a short chapter to let you all know that, even though it's been a while, I'm still working on this fic. I haven't forgotten about it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 7</p>
<p>	Peter watches as his quinjet glides towards the designated landing zone, eyes taking in every detail he can of the amazing city. The fluid and natural looking design. The beautifully intricate and smooth art style. And the tech. Just seeing what’s there from a distance has already caused hundreds of new designs to start running around in his head. He needs to get to a lab, and he needs to do it yesterday.</p>
<p>	As they step off of the jet, Peter starts spinning around while he walks, trying to take in every single detail. When he stops, he notices a small change in MJ beside him. She’s been stressed and anxious through the entire ride here, and even before it. Now, her demeanor has completely changed.</p>
<p>She’s walking different, still balanced like the trained fighter she is, but more rigid. Less like an Assassin or spy, and more like a warrior. Peter can guess what it is. In the middle of her ancestor’s home country, his friend is trying to fall back on something familiar. That is, the memories, experiences, and training of a Wakandan wardog. It becomes even more prevalent as Peter watches an entourage approach the landing pad.</p>
<p>He recognizes King T’Challa from the news feeds he’s seen of the Accords amendments and the publicizing of Wakanda’s technological advancements. It’s kind of difficult trying to see the cool and calm ruler of a nation and comparing him to the black suited fighter that he still sees in Mr. Starks suit feeds from the airport battle. Now that he’s approaching, with his elite female guard on either side of him, he seems even more regal than when he’s on the news.</p>
<p>“Mr. Stark,” the king welcomes the billionaire with open arms. Turning to the second of the de-facto leaders. “Captain Rogers. It is good to see you both again.” His face turns serious. “But from your communications, you are not here for a social visit.” He looks behind them. “And I would gather it has something to do with these unfamiliar people you have brought with you.”</p>
<p>“Desmond Miles,” the third leader steps forward, holding out his only hand. “There’s a lot we have to go over.”</p>
<p>“Of course,” T’Challa nods seriously, taking the handshake. “Let us get you all inside and settled first. I have a feeling you will be staying for some time.”</p>
<p>“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Desmond smiles.</p>
<p>“Come now,” the king motions for them to follow. “If you will leave a few of your associates here, they can assist my people in moving your possessions inside. They can join us once they have settled in.”</p>
<p>The Avengers follow, along with a few of the Assassins. Tony and Desmond both look behind them, at the three kids. They both motion for them to come. Peter, Ned, and MJ rush ahead to catch up.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>They’re walking through the halls, and MJ doesn’t think she’s been this nervous or excited since she first walked into Ms. Potts’ office after being told she was going to be her private intern. There’s a nagging in the back of her head, the memories that are apart of her but aren’t hers. She just seems to fall into the mindset of her ancestor, walking and holding herself like the warrior the young girl slowly became after her trips into the Animus.</p>
<p>“Hello,” one of the women walking with them comes up next to her and smiles. “I’m Nakia, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”</p>
<p>MJ looks up at the older woman. “<em>My name is</em> Michelle. <em>It is a pleasure to meet you.</em>”</p>
<p>There’s a shocked look that flickers on Nakia’s face. It’s at that time that MJ realizes she just introduced herself in Xhosa. The other Wakandan’s in the group also start looking in her direction. Even King T’Challa glances back at her in surprise. That surprise, however, quickly turns to a comforting smile.</p>
<p>“It seems there are a great many things that we have to discuss. Come, we are almost to a place we can speak.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>During the rest of the walk to the meeting room. Peter listens as MJ talks with Nakia. From what he’s picked up in watching the Animus feeds, as well as his own attempts at self-study, the two of them are just making small talk. There are a few chuckles from the surrounding Wakandans at the occasional joke made. Once, a very purposeful cough comes from King T’Challa after one such round of laughter. The joke must’ve been at his expense.</p>
<p>Peter can’t help but smile at what’s happening. She’s been stressed the entire ride over, but he can see his friend starting to relax. Finally, they walk through a doorway into a normal looking conference room. Most of the guards stay outside, but one of them, Peter would guess it’s the leader, follows. Nakia also comes in places herself next to T’Challa. Everyone else finds their own seats around the table.</p>
<p>“Alright, Mr. Stark,” T’Challa addresses the man. “I know you didn’t come all this way just to discuss business dealings.” He looks around at the new faces in the group, including the three teens. “And I would take a guess that these people have something to do with it.”</p>
<p>Stark looks at Desmond, nodding at him. With that, the Assassin steeples his fingers on the table in front of him.</p>
<p>“King T’Challa. We believe that there is a credible threat to your country that will show itself very soon.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You ever get writers block and go to other fics to try to clear it. Then, life just gets in the way and you start getting so many other fic ideas in your head that you never make it back to the first until months later. Well, I'm back. Not sure for how much longer, but I'm here.</p>
<p>I have a lot of different scenes and ideas that I want to implement in this fic. Both comedic and more serious. With a bit of fluff put in as well. The challenge is writing what's in between.</p>
<p>The Wakandans meet the Assassins. What will happen next? What secrets lie in the technologically advanced country? Well, you'll probably find out later.</p>
<p>Comment and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Unlikely, and sort of unwelcome, reunion.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Given how little I've updated this fic, I'm thankful to anyone who is still reading this.</p><p>Thank you, and here you go.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 8</p><p>	The King of Wakanda is frowning by the end of the report that Desmond gives. Tony, and Michelle, both add in their own two cents. Stark, with his experience from the kidnapping, and MJ with an explanation of her heritage and the Animus. Nakia and Okeye both have intense looks on their face. The rest of the non-Wakandans in the room are nervous.</p><p>	“And these devices,” T’Challa finally speaks. “The Animus. You have brought some here, correct?”</p><p>	“Yes,” Desmond nods.</p><p>	“I would like to have my science division examine them.”</p><p>	“Of course, Your Majesty.”</p><p>	“You have given me a great many things to think about. I must also discuss them with the elders. Be that as it may, I have determined that you yourself, and your organization, are not a threat to my people. For now.”</p><p>	“Thank you,” Desmond smiles, grateful.</p><p>	“I will give the Assassins permission to move about the palace, and the surrounding area, under guard. We are still not used to outsiders, and just because you are not a threat, does not mean you are completely trusted. The Dora Milaje will guide you wherever you wish to go, within reason.”</p><p>	“Can we see the labs?” Peter raises his hand excitedly.</p><p>	An amused smile shows on the king’s face. “Yes, you may. I have a feeling my sister would love to meet you.” He looks at MJ. “And you are welcome to train with the Dora if you are so inclined.”</p><p>	A smile shows on the young girls face as she bows. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”</p><p>	“And you,” he turns to look at the rest of the Avengers. “Are welcome to follow either group, or I can have you guided to your rooms. If there is anywhere else that you’d like to go, you can ask, and they will bring you there if it is allowed.”</p><p>	Steve Rogers speaks up, a bit hesitant. “Is it possible for me to see him?”</p><p>	“Of course. He’s doing quite well. I’ll have him brought up. I think he’ll be happy to see you.”</p><p>***</p><p>	Tony is standing there, as he stares at the sight in front of him. There are flashbacks. A snow-covered road. A car crash that he now knows wasn’t an accident. Him having to go to the morgue to identify the bodies.</p><p>	He doesn’t even think they were meant to cross paths, but apparently wherever Barnes had been staying is on an intersect course with the path that Tony and the rest of his group are taking to the labs. Steve and his war buddy are standing there with Sam, catching up. It’s when the billionaire remembers he’s not alone that he realizes who he’s actually with.</p><p>	As he turns to look, he sees Peter shaking as he stares at the man in front of him. Luckily, Ned and Michelle are there. Ned stands in front of Peter, on guard and glaring in a way that Tony’s never seen the boy. Michelle puts herself in Peter’s sight, snapping him out of his trance.</p><p>	Nat for her part, is taking stock of the situation with less emotion. She turns to their escorts.</p><p>	“Could you take the rest of them back to their rooms?” She asks the guards. “They’ll probably need some time to rest.”</p><p>	The rest of the group is turned around and escorted away. Natasha sees Tony and Peter’s friends give her some looks of gratitude. She turns back to the sight in front of her. It’s not like she blames Steve, it’s probably been a while since he’s seen his best friend. He’s not at fault for this particular situation. They’re far enough away that they just now noticed the group as they left. Steve even looks apologetic as he watches Tony turn the corner out of sight. Bucky looks guilty. Nat feels a little sorry for the two supersoldiers. The shit luck of the situation just grates on the Black Widow’s nerves.</p><p>	As she approaches the trio of soldiers, Sam lets out a sigh.</p><p>	“That was awkward,” he pinches the bridge of his nose.</p><p>	Remembering the SHIELD file, one that she discovered years back, the Black Widow responds with a sigh of her own.</p><p>	“You honestly have no idea.”</p><p>***</p><p>	Tony’s leaning against the wall outside of Peter’s room. He looks up as the door opens and Michelle and Ned walk out.</p><p>	“How is he?” Stark asks.</p><p>	“Sleeping,” MJ responds. “Honestly, he’s been pretty stressed about this entire thing. I think seeing Barnes was just the breaking point. I take it you know about his parents?”</p><p>	“Nat found the SHIELD file when she was looking into him,” the man confirms.</p><p>	“Yeah,” Michelle sighs. “We should let him rest, but I think I’ll take the King up on his offer of training. I need to blow off some steam. Let me know when he wakes up.”</p><p>	As she stalks off with her own couple of escorts, Ned speaks up.</p><p>	“I-I think I’m going to check out my room,” he says. “I’ll check out the lab with Peter tomorrow. See yah, Mr. Stark.”</p><p>	Stark is left alone in the hallway, with only the single guard left to accompany him.</p><p>	“Could you take me to my room? Honestly, this entire day has turned into a pretty big headache.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Steve Rogers is not a villain. Don't care what anyone else thinks. He can be a bit dense sometimes, and sometimes has a fairly conflictive personality, but we see on multiple occasions that he's sorry for keeping that secret. If we're being honest, I've wanted to punch Tony Stark in the face just as much as I've wanted to hit Steve in the movies.</p><p>They'll be staying in Wakanda for a while. Doing a whole bunch of fun little things and discovering more about the country.</p><p>Now then, onto the announcement. Good news is I'm still going to be working on this fic. Bad news is, after this Wakandan arc, I'll probably be making it less plot oriented. I've come to understand that, although it's fun to do, I'm not that great at creating and finishing a set storyline for large fics.</p><p>This is why I'm going to be doing this. "Avenger's Creed" will be for ideas during the time when the Avengers know about the Assassins. "The Life and Times of the Avenger's Creed Universe" (The previous fic) will be for anything anyone might want when it comes to before the Avengers knew about the Assassins. I'll take any recommendations or ideas or things that you want to see in this universe.</p><p>Once again, there will still probably be a bit of plot in this fic, because I want this fic in particular to be more than me just spinning my wheels, but it'll be interspersed as I continue updating this with requests and other little fluff chapters that come to my mind. I hope you all understand, and I'm sorry if this turns away some people.</p><p>Either way, if you continue reading this or not, thank you for your support until now.</p><p>Comments and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The nerds meet.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh chapter, my chapter. Finally got it posted.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 9</p><p>	He’s feeling better today. Still a bit stressed, but Peter’s better.</p><p>	Now, Peter and Ned are both almost walking up the walls, Peter literally, in anticipation of what’s behind the doors in front of them. The doors open with a woosh, and the two teen’s jaws drop.</p><p>	“Hey, guys,” Rebecca and Tony are standing there waiting for them. “Welcome to your home away from home.”</p><p>	“Woah,” the two teens circle as they walk into the lab.</p><p>	At the end of the large room, a large window takes up the entire wall, showing the underground cavern that’s probably a part of the vibranium mine.</p><p>	“You have maglev tracks?!” Peter gasps as he watches the train go by down below, face squished against the glass with Ned.</p><p>	“C’mon, kids,” Mr. Stark chuckles at them. “Let’s go meet the boss.”</p><p>***</p><p>	“Boys, meet Shuri, T’Challa’s sister and Head of the Wakandan Science Division.”</p><p>	The two boys gape at the teenage girl sitting on the table in front of them.</p><p>	“You’re the head scientist?” Peter asks.</p><p>	“Yep,” she pops. “Youngest in the history of Wakanda.”</p><p>	“Awesome,” Ned exhales.</p><p>	“Alright,” she claps. “Did this for Stark and Rebecca the other day, but let’s give you two the grand tour.”</p><p>	The two boys follow like lemmings behind the girl as she starts towards another pair of doors.</p><p>***</p><p>	“Okay,” Shuri claps. “And finally, here is my personal lab.”</p><p>	When Peter walks in, it doesn’t look all that impressive. Sleek and clean, sure, but it doesn’t have the same flair that Mr. Stark’s lab has. There’s no cool looking cars or unfinished projects on display. A few mannequins are on display, and what looks to be a pair of shoes and gauntlets, but other than that, it’s clean.</p><p>	“Not much here,” Peter voices his observations.</p><p>	“Of course,” Shuri snorts. “We’re an isolationist country. We only use our resources once the designs are completed to the point where we have to field test it to move on. My personal lab is for designing only, for the most part.” She waves her hand above one of the tables, and a hologram appears like at Mr. Stark’s. “Now, Peter, right?” She looks back at the lanky teen, who nods in confirmation. “I have a few questions for you in particular. About some designs I’ve been doing.”</p><p>	He gives her a look of confusion, walking closer to the table. “What?”</p><p>	What she pulls up is a pair of gloves, and some boots. He frowns as he looks at them.</p><p>	“I’ve been doing a lot to study the different heroes around the world,” she grins. “It’s a little hobby of mine. Iron-man’s suit is decent, and Stark let me take a look at his nanotech yesterday. I can do better, but it’s not bad, considering the lack of vibranium. Captain America’s shield,” she snorts. “Overzealous Frisbee. Falcon’s wings, also pretty nice. Out of all of the tech I’ve been able to duplicate, there’s one that’s stumped me. Spider-man, and they tell me you’re the tech guy for the vigilante.”</p><p>	“Spider-man?” Peter frowns. “You mean his webs?”</p><p>	“Nope,” she waves her hand, showing a familiar chemical formula. “Pretty simple, surprisingly.”</p><p>	“Well, I came up with it in my high school chemistry class, so yeah.”</p><p>	“What’s bothering me are his gloves and boots,” Shuri continues. “I’ve tried everything I can think of, even using vibranium. I’ve narrowed it down to it being a form of Van der Waals force, but I can’t duplicate the effects you’ve made to the same extent.”</p><p>	Peter looks back at Rebecca, questioningly. She knows what he’s asking and gives him a nod of approval.</p><p>	“Well,” Peter smiles. “That’s because I don’t use technology to stick to things. It’s a part of my enhancements.”</p><p>	“Wait,” her eyes widen. “You’re Spider-man.” The Princess of Wakanda’s face lights up in a large smile. “Oh, my Bast! Why didn’t I know that?” She holds out her wrist. “You said it’s biological? Do you mind if I do a scan on your hands?”</p><p>	Peter just chuckles at that, holding out his hands. “Sure.”</p><p>	The spiderling is pretty impressed at the beads on Shuri’s wrist, but the princess seems just as impressed at what appears on her hologram when she finishes.</p><p>	“Wow,” she gasps. “I mean, I’d been doing experiments on duplicating the hairs of spider legs because of your name, but you really are like a giant spider, aren’t you?”</p><p>	“Well, yeah,” he scratches his head, laughing a bit.</p><p>	“This’ll definitely help me with the boots and gloves. Do you think you can come back on occasion to help me with them?”</p><p>	“Of course,” Peter smiles. “I’ll probably be living in this lab for most of the time I’m here.”</p><p>	“But,” Rebecca cuts in. “As much as I’d love to let you stay in here during our entire time here, don’t forget about your training, too. Speaking of which, we should probably go pick up MJ and head to get something to eat.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The "Oh my Bast!" line was just something I was thinking would be right up Shuri's alley. You know, combining a bit of pop culture with her own traditional beliefs.</p><p>Either way, I hope that you still enjoy the series, even with the slow updates.</p><p>Comments and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The truth of Wakanda</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Finally got to another major point in the world building. Hope you like it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 10</p><p>	T’Challa, Shuri, Okeye, and Nakia are escorting a few of their guests down a wide, well supported, and well-lit mine shaft. Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Natasha Romanov are there to represent the Avengers. Rebecca Crane, Desmond Miles, and Shaun Hastings are there for the Assassins. MJ and Peter were asked to come along by all parties due to their personal involvement with them. MJ is seen as a bridge between the Wakandans and the Assassins, while Peter is the same between the Avengers and Assassins. Add on their enhancements and combat skills, all parties accepted their inclusion.</p><p>	They’d left the mag-lev train- which Peter, Tony, and Rebecca still get excited about- a few miles back. They’ve passed through so many side tunnels and branches that even the geniuses in the room might get lost. Still, the Avengers and Assassins trust T’Challa. They were told that there was something they needed to see, and they’ll continue to trust the Wakandan ruler until they are given a good reason not to. Finally, they arrive at a large metal door.</p><p>	“We’ll take another break here,” T’Challa announces.</p><p>	“Thank you,” Tony sighs, sliding down the cavern wall.</p><p>	“What’s the matter, Stark,” Rebecca smirks. “Old bones can’t keep up with the young’uns?”</p><p>	“I’m not enhanced,” the man gives her a playful glare. “And I have a heart condition.”</p><p>	“I apologize, Stark,” T’Challa gives a slight bow. “But we had to come here without technology.”</p><p>	“Yeah,” he waves it off, exhaling. “I get it. Whatever this is, it’s obviously something secret and important. Gotta make sure it stays that way. Just- How long is it until we reach wherever we’re going.”</p><p>	“Thank you for your understanding. It is not far after this door. The elders were hesitant to trust you with this, but we believe it is important for you to understand. While we wait, however, I have a question for Ms. Jones.”</p><p>	“Yes?” She looks up at the king.</p><p>	“Do you know the origin of the Wakandan nation?”</p><p>	“It started when a meteor,” she tells him. “Struck the land here. Your forefather, the first Black Panther, discovered the sight of the crash within the mountain and was said to be led by the goddess Bast to an herb that allowed him to unite the warring tribes together.”</p><p>	He smiles at the girl. “Good, Ms. Jones. That is the legend, but I’m afraid it isn’t the full truth.” The current Black Panther takes a deep breath, as if preparing himself. His face seems to set. “Come, I will explain on the last leg of our journey.”</p><p>	T’Challa places his hand on the door in front of him. There’s no indication of anything happening, whether its scanning or otherwise, but the door opens all the same. Tony rises to his feet, following the procession as they carry on.</p><p>	“When the meteor struck into the mountain,” T’Challa begins. “Its size was great, and it’s impression was even greater, however, despite the size of the meteor, there would be no way for it to support the use of vibranium throughout the history of Wakanda, despite our best attempts of recycling. It would have long since been exhausted, but we have continued to be able to use the vibranium ore. That is because of this.”</p><p>	As the Wakandan king finishes his speech, the small tunnel they had been walking through opens up into a gaping cavern, and in front of them.</p><p>	“The Precursor Temple,” Shaun breathes out.</p><p>	It’s a large, flat wall made out of metal.</p><p>	“My ancestor was exploring the cave systems within this mountain,” T’Challa continues. “When he stumbled upon this structure and received a vision. A woman showed him the vibranium meteor striking this building, and causing the entirety of the land around it to change. The far reaches of the area only had the plant life affected, but the various ores within the mountain itself changed, as if by some sort of magic, to the substance that existed in the meteor. The heart-shaped herb was something he was shown in that vision. A plant that was created by the being to help those chosen by her. He believed her to be Bast, but after hearing your story, the elders and I agree that it may have been someone else.”</p><p>	“Minerva,” Shaun nods. “It would make sense for your ancestor to mistake her for the goddess Bast, and I don’t believe she would mind being called that, if you wish to continue referring to her as such. The only reason she even called herself Minerva is due to the deifying of her personage by the people of Ancient Rome.”</p><p>	“From what we’ve been able to gather from analyzing the herb,” Shuri cuts in. “And from what I’ve been able to reverse engineer from your Animus, there are similarities in the neural reactions of the device and what we’ve theorized happens when the Black Panther takes the herb.”</p><p>	“Theorize?” Rebecca frowns. “Why don’t you just slap some neurons on, and test it?”</p><p>	“Tradition,” T’Challa tells her. “And respect. The partaking of the heart-shaped herb is one of the most sacred practices in our people’s culture. It has only been in the last couple of generations that we have even begun to consider studying the reactions from the herb, and right now,” he frowns. “Due to certain circumstances, we do not have any mature plants in order to test our theories, even if the elders were to agree to that experiment.”</p><p>	The look in the eyes of the Wakandan’s tell the assembled crowd that the why for the lack of the heart-shaped herb should not be discussed.</p><p>	“Has there been any activity from the device since the Wakandan’s have settled here?” Shaun asks the king.</p><p>	“Not a peep,” Shuri replies. “And our weapons can’t even scratch the thing.”</p><p>	“To be expected,” Stark chuckles. “If a hurtling meteor made out of the strongest and most versatile metal in the world can’t damage it.”</p><p>	“Alright,” Shaun claps his hands together. “Do you mind if we take a look around, your Highness? See if we can’t find something out about it?”</p><p>	“That is why we brought you here,” T’Challa nods. “We were hoping that you could shed some light on this structure.”</p><p>	“We’ll see what we can do.”</p><p>***</p><p>	“Found it!”</p><p>	Everyone looks up at Peter as he waves from a point high up on the large metal surface. Okeye and Nakia gaped a bit at the boy when he started climbing up the wall, and T’Challa and Steve had different frowns at the display, but it definitely was useful for them to explore the entirety of the thing.</p><p>	“You sure, kid?” Tony frowns as he squints up at where his mentee is.</p><p>	“Yep,” he pops. “There’s a similar indentation to the one from the photos of the Great Temple. You know, like where the Apple went, but there’s also another indentation. It’s thin, and a bit deeper than the other one.”</p><p>	“Peter’s almost as proficient in Precursor tech as I am,” Rebecca confirms to the surrounding crowd. “He’s also only slightly under Shaun when it comes to what little we understand about their writings.” She looks up and raises her voice a bit. “Good job, Pete. Come on down.”</p><p>	Peter gives Tony a mini heart attack when he just unsticks and does a flip before landing lightly on his feet. The genius Avenger knows that the kid can survive that with barely any injury, even if he didn’t have the skills to land correctly, but still. A few of the other adults in the room also look like their hearts skipped a beat, and Ms. Jones walks over and gives the boy a light punch on the arm. The spiderling just gives a sheepish, and slightly apologetic, smile to the girl, his face blushing a small shade of red in the lighting.</p><p>	“Based upon Peter’s observations,” Shaun frowns, crossing his arms. “This Temple is similar to the one underneath the Vatican in that it normally needs two different artifacts in order to be opened. One of them is, like normally, an Apple of Eden, but the other is one we’ll have to do some research on.”</p><p>	“And how many of the Apples are there?” Nakia asks.</p><p>	“Two that we know of,” Desmond says. “We’re in the possession of one and know the location of another. But,” the Assassin scratches his chin. “We could try it with the one that we have. It’s different than the normal Apple in that it was given the ability to open the Grand Temple. I could work on this, too. Might be able to open it without the second key Peter mentioned.”</p><p>	“It’s worth a try,” Rebecca shrugs. Then, she frowns. “But I think we should wait a bit on it. Unlike with the Grand Temple, we aren’t really on a time crunch for this. We should settle our other affairs first.”</p><p>	“I agree,” Natasha joins in. “No need to give the Templars more open doors than they already have, and it can give us some more time to research the thing, too.”</p><p>	“Yeah,” Tony sighs. “I think I’ve learned the hard way not to play around with something that you haven’t done some extensive research on first.”</p><p>	“Yeah,” Desmond frowns. “That’d probably be best. The Apple isn’t even with me right now. I was told not to bring any weapons of tech with me.” He looks at T’Challa. “Didn’t want to betray the trust I’d earned.”</p><p>	“I thank you for that, Mr. Miles,” the King nods. “But let’s head back. The others might begin to worry.” He looks towards the two guards he’s brought. “I would like the both of you and Ayo to be available for them, should the need arise. You three are the only members of the Dora that actually know the existence of this place, even if Ayo doesn’t know the exact location. They’ll need a Wakandan escort if they wish to come this deep into the mines.”</p><p>	The group exits the area, with many questions answered, but more than a few brought to the surface because of it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope I did a good job of explaining the whole thing. If you do have any questions about he universe, feel free to ask. I'll more than likely answer them either in your comments or in another chapter if I have an answer.</p><p>Despite the scientific curiosity, I think the Ultron incident has made Tony a bit more cautious about messing around with highly advanced technology.</p><p>Comments and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Captain America and Iron-man get a stern talking to.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a short chapter to explain a few things that have been in my head.</p><p>Thank you for everyone's comments. Any questions; feel free to ask.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 11</p><p>	“Alright! That’s enough!”</p><p>	William Miles slams his hands on the table in front of him, jolting Tony Stark and Steve Rogers out of another one of their arguments. It’s happened more than once since they’ve reunited. A differing of opinion leads to an inability to compromise, which leads to the reopening of old wounds and eventually causes the yelling match that has started in front of everyone. The third party that is usually present has apparently put up with it for long enough.</p><p>	“I don’t know to what extent your little grudge goes!” The older Assassin continues. “But if you are going to keep this up, I’m going to get something off of my chest. You,” he jabs a finger at Captain America. “Have no ground to stand on. You go from place to place, fighting piddly little skirmishes that have almost no impact on the grand scheme of the world. Captain,” he snorts. “The title suits you. You’re a man who can only see the battle in front of him, and the people directly under his lead. Trying to think any further, to consider the war and the larger reaches of your actions, is nearly impossible unless something is placed in front of you to trigger those thoughts. Your lack of ability to bend to other people’s ideals might seem a strength, and at times it can be, but it also leads to a shortsightedness and inability to listen to others when the need arises.”</p><p>	Steve, understandably, is a bit affronted by the lecture he’s getting. He gives the man a level look.</p><p>	“I don’t want to hear that from someone who’s apart of a group that trains child soldiers.”</p><p>	Mr. Miles gives an exasperated sigh. “I was wondering when you’d bring that up, Mr. ‘I Tried to Apply for the Draft at Sixteen.’ Peter, Michelle, come here.”</p><p>	The two teens step forward calmly. Peter’s glaring a bit, but Michelle just looks indifferent.</p><p>	“These two,” William indicates the teens. “Are not like you. They did not volunteer for this war; they did not ask to be a part of it. Their enhancements were not given to them in a lab, they were born with that potential, and as such, they would be in danger of capture by the Templars whether they knew it or not. So, we train them to defend themselves. Yes, many of them become Assassins as they grow older, but we don’t force it on them. We teach them the threats, and if they choose not to follow that path, we make sure to stay in contact but still allow them their freedom. Which, brings me to the other problem in the room.”</p><p>	He turns to Tony Stark, who was just standing there watching the show, suddenly has the glare directed at him.</p><p>	“As for you, Mr. Stark. The Assassins allow our younger and less experienced members to go on scouting missions, stealth operations, and various other low risk missions if we deem them skilled enough. On occasion, we even allow them to shadow a group of fully trained Assassins should the chance arise. Mr. Parker,” he indicates Peter. “Is an exception in that, due to his much greater enhancements than the average Assassin, we had allowed him to act as Spider-man as a form of training and protecting his home. What we do not do, however, allow a normal fifteen-year-old trainee to be taken to a fight between highly trained, dangerous, and heavily armed individuals. You didn’t even know about his training, but you had no compunctions about recruiting him for you little Civil War.”</p><p>	Tony, for his part, at least looks guilty at the callout.</p><p>	“However,” he keeps it rolling. “The fact that you did go to the Parker residence is probably the luckiest break you had during that entire debacle. Most billionaires are on the Assassins’ watch list as a rule, but after the incident with Ultron, and then your support of the Accords, you began to have a closer watch placed on you than before. We’d had plans to have some of our agents infiltrate your company in the works. If Ms. Jones hadn’t informed us of your true motivations behind your support of the Accords, and you hadn’t given her the opportunity to allow the Assassins to assist in the amendments, you may have found quite a few new employees that fit fairly well into various departments of your business.”</p><p>	Tony resists the urge to glance at the two teens behind William. Are they only at the company because…?</p><p>	“Don’t worry, Stark,” William Miles pats the billionaire’s shoulder, seemingly reading his mind. “The teens aren’t there to infiltrate your company. From what I’ve heard, they genuinely enjoy their internships, and we’ve been trying to allow the young ones more freedom lately.” He sighs, looking away from Stark. “I’ve learned to let them have their childhood to some degree when we can. Our traditional ways of raising teens have caused more than a few incidents we’d rather not repeat.”</p><p>	The wizened old Assassin turns on his heel and walks towards the door. Before he exits, he looks back.</p><p>	“Unless both of you can get your shit together, your heads out of your asses, and get through a meeting without almost coming to blows, there’s no point in being in here for these discussions.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The Assassins have a set moral code. They look at the grand scheme of their actions and don't fight every battle. They try not to allow their emotions to control their actions. Doesn't always work, but still. They also have a Council and multiple different cells to keep the power out of a single persons hands. They've had more than one piece of evidence about what happens when a single person holds all of the authority.</p><p>Captain America fights every battle he feels is right. He doesn't look at the grand scheme as often as he probably should, and obviously is more emotionally driven than he is intellectually driven. He's also the final, and a lot of times only, deciding factor on what missions they'd take, especially when Iron-man became an inactive member.</p><p>The Assassins believe in peace through freedom. The Sokovia Accords was a highly controlling and corrupt document. Not only that, Ultron's mission parameters were almost a direct opposite of the Assassins' mission. If they wouldn't've found out about Tony Stark's true motivations in this fic, they would've never allowed Peter to fight alongside him. Be that as it may, because he came to Peter, he became the best opportunity for the Assassins to get in on the Accords discussions.</p><p>Anyways, this chapter was just to address a nagging doubt I've had since I started this fic, because despite the differences between Team Captain America and the Order of Assassins, the Order would've more than likely supported Team Cap over Team Iron-man in the conflict if it was just taken at face value. This right here is the explanation I've had since I've started this.</p><p>Also, I wanted to show a bit of the good side of William Miles. Thank you.</p><p>Comments and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Quick bit of training and conversation to curb the boredom and monotony.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's just another chapter to flesh out the characters a bit, but I liked it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 12</p><p>	“Oof!”</p><p>	Peter helps his best friend up from the mat. Ned rolls his shoulder smiling at the other boy, before they both get back into their ready stances and continue their sparring.</p><p>	Even though Ned doesn’t specialize in field operations, every single Assassin needs to know how to defend themselves to some degree. Add on that he’s been around Peter and MJ for as long as they can remember, and you will find that Ned is more than willing and able to do physical activity.</p><p>	“You know,” Tony watches the two boys train together. “Peter might be holding back, but Leeds is doing pretty well against him.”</p><p>	“He gets overshadowed a lot because he’s always around two gifted fighters,” Rebecca smiles fondly. “But Ned is a natural when it comes to certain fighting styles. He can go toe to toe against some of the best of our fully trained members. He just doesn’t have any enhancements or experience from living the lives of his ancestors. He knows this, and he works harder when he’s training than anyone else in order to perfect his own abilities. Peter and MJ are always more than willing to help him, and he even motivates them to keep training in order to keep him from surpassing them.”</p><p>	“You should see him when he gets a weapon in his hand,” Shaun joins in the conversation. “A force to be reckoned with, that one. Actually knocks some Master Assassins down when it’s something he specializes in.”</p><p>	That gets a whistle of appreciation from Stark and a smirk of approval from Nat. After a couple more rounds of hand to hand, MJ finally finishes up her own warm up and tosses the two of them a staff, before getting ready with her own.</p><p>	Shaun was right. Ned can hold his own in a three-person sparring match with staves. Peter holds back enough to keep from breaking the wooden weapons, but other than that, you can see that the seemingly out of shape computer nerd isn’t just keeping up with them, he’s even with them. Ned Leeds smiles along with the other two as they strike and block, dodge and parry, trying to get a good hit in or disarm their opponents. It’s difficult, because as soon as you try to strike one person, the other will use that as an opening. They have to constantly keep their guard up, even while attacking or taking another person off balance. Still, despite the intensity, the three teens are having fun. Laughing and joking along while they battle each other. It’s nice to see.</p><p>	Still, one thing that Peter and MJ have that Ned doesn’t is stamina. If the other two teens were normal, Ned would probably be closer on that aspect. Be that as it may, Ned’s the first to call it quits on the training, leaning on the well-made staff in exhaustion, while MJ looks like she agrees with him. She doesn’t look as worn out, but there’s still a nice amount of perspiration. Peter only has a small amount of moisture on his forehead, but he laughs as he makes a comment about getting something to eat after cleaning up. The other two give their friend amused smiles before they all walk out of the training area, chatting up a storm about everything they’re learning here.</p><p>	“Is it fine to let them just do whatever they want for training?” Nat frowns.</p><p>	“We have a more rigid structure at home,” Shaun tells her. “But we can’t push them hard while we’re here in Wakanda. Technically speaking, we are on mission. At this current time, the training is just to keep them limber and in shape.”</p><p>	“Besides,” Rebecca smiles. “Even back home, other than the occasional set training exercise and review of their skills, we usually just tell them what they need to work on and give the occasional tip on how to do it. They’ve long surpassed Shaun and I when it comes to actually sparring. It’s why we were so happy when The Black Widow took on Peter and MJ for training.”</p><p>	“It’s my pleasure,” the spy in question sighs. “They’re fast learners, and I’d love to see how Leeds does sometime. He’s the one I’ve had the least contact with out of the three.”</p><p>	“We’ll set up a playdate when we get back,” Tony jokes. “But my break is over; gotta get back to my research.”</p><p>	“We’d better get going, as well,” Shaun stretches.</p><p>	The adults file out through the same door the teens went through, their own, albeit slightly calmer, conversation going as they do.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>All three of the teen Assassins have their own "loadouts" I guess you could call them. Their specific weapons and combat styles that they're really good at. They are in my head, and if you would like to know them, I can say them in the comments or put in another chapter in one of the fics in the series. Let me know if you're curious.</p><p>MJ is enhanced. She doesn't have as much stamina as Peter does, but she does have enough stamina to run at what is basically full speed through an entire city without being too exhausted at the other end. You know, sort of like you can do in the video games. Yay! Using science fiction to explain video game logic!</p><p>Let me know if there's anything you might want to know about, or it there's something you want to see happen.</p><p>Comments and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Field missions in the African jungle.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Things are finally starting to pick up in the idea department for this fic. Let's ride this train until it stops.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 13</p><p>	MJ and Peter are sitting in a tree.</p><p>	No, they are not doing the second part of that children’s song, despite the thought coming to both of their minds at least once during the hours they’ve spent there. They are on mission.</p><p>	Over the weeks, Michelle has integrated fairly well into Wakandan culture. She visited the tribe that her ancestor originated from, has had tours around the city, and trains just as much with the Wakandan warriors as she does with the other Assassins. Even Peter can tell that her Xhosa has become smoother. She was sort of like him with his Italian and Spanish. Just because Wakanda was isolationist doesn’t mean there wasn’t slight developments in their language. The female Assassin could almost be seen as a native of the African nation, and most of Wakandans she has begun to interact with treat about as such.</p><p>	Now, the girl and her friend are on a scouting mission for the Assassins and Wakandans. Even before the nation had come out of the shadows, Wakanda had been plagued with people attempting to kidnap its people. Human traffickers that the border tribe and wardogs have been taking down whenever possible. Now, with the truth about their technological advancement revealed, the kidnapping and infiltration attempts have skyrocketed. Either to try and hold the Wakandan people hostage for money and information, or even to infiltrate their nation and attempt to steal some of the technology or vibranium. There are even still traffickers who have claimed that Wakandans are now “high-value goods” for sale; a thought that almost made Peter warp the metal table in the conference room.</p><p>	This uptick in infiltrators and invaders has created a need for more scouts patrolling the border and the jungle area of the nation. The Assassins believe that the Templars could use this to their advantage to try to infiltrate the nation, while the Wakandans are afraid that a few of the dissenters that escaped after their civil war would attempt to strike during this influx in activity. Peter and MJ were tasked with assisting a contingent of Wakandans in the scouting for Templars, and have also been told to keep a look out for any other issues that may affect the nation.</p><p>	It was rough going at first. Like it or not, the two teens are outsiders. They were tolerated, and used, but not entirely welcome. They showed their skills, which at least proved that they deserved to be a part of the team, and MJ managed to break the ice with a few people due to her being of Wakandan decent. The person they take orders from when they’re patrolling has them with a couple of other scouts. They’ve been at this for the last week, but with nothing to show. As dull as it might be, everyone involved agrees that no news is good news.</p><p>	It’s about time to move on to the next point, when Peter’s enhanced hearing picks up on something. His other companions stick to the trees like him, and they at least signal when they go to the ground. Besides, this is a large group, a large distance away, moving through the underbrush. Could just be a group of animals, like it has been before, but better safe than sorry. He gives a brief indication to MJ next to him, using hand signals to tell her the direction, distance, and number.</p><p>	MJ, for her part, is in charge of communication with their teammates. Peter has a communicator, but it’s easier for the Wakandans to speak in their native language. As she reports what Peter heard to the other pair, she can’t help but glance at Peter’s costume.</p><p>	It’s black. Black and various other dark shades of color that help him blend in at night. The form and shape are reminiscent of his Spider-man suit, with a mask and everything. Just as tight fitting, much to her amusement, but a bit sturdier because it was made by Shuri. Not to the same degree as King T’Challa’s Black Panther armor, but nothing to sneeze at either.</p><p>	It takes another ten minutes of Peter confirming that the group of people is headed in their direction before MJ can pick up anything. The leader of their party is further ahead, and he confirms that it’s a group of outsiders. The two adults will wait until they pass in order to cut off escape, having the teens form the front of the ambush. The plan is to take them alive, but obviously prioritize your own life over theirs.</p><p>	Five men, all armed, all decked out in camo and equipment. Night vision goggles on all of their faces. Definitely not a mistake that they came here.</p><p>	Peter muscles flex as he loosens up, getting ready to launch. He has his targets, and MJ has hers. As they pass below, the teens drop. Both of them land on top of their targets, bringing them to the ground with their sudden weight, before sending a kick behind them and into the faces of two more fighters. Then, the fighting really starts.</p><p>	Using his enhanced strength, Peter tears the strap on his guys gun, and rips the night vision goggles off. He then goes after the guy he kicked, getting in close and delivering an elbow to the man’s face, making his already askew goggles even worse. He then knees the man in the side of his torso before shoving him back into the fifth man behind him. The two of them don’t have time to recover before they’re hit by the two adults as they drop from the trees.</p><p>	Now, it’s five on four. Strike that, MJ delivers a quick blow to the neck of one of her targets, dropping them. Four on four. However, the soldiers are already caught off guard from the ambush, and the two that the adults take are knocked out quickly. Peter slams another one into a tree, before he watches MJ take the last one to the ground.</p><p>***</p><p>	The five invaders are stripped bare and tied to the nearest tree. The two adults are standing near, with Peter and MJ behind them. Peter has his hand on his best friend’s arm. Partially in comfort, and partially for something else. As the adults interrogate the men, Peter suddenly gives two taps to MJ’s arm.</p><p>	<em>“Lie.”</em> The younger girl snaps.</p><p>	“Tell the truth,” the Wakandan holds a knife underneath the intruder’s chin. “Why are you here?”</p><p>	Due to the spider bite, Peter’s senses are enhanced to a greater degree than the normal Assassin enhancements. He’s not as good as Daredevil at it, but he can hear people’s heartbeats and is able to tell to some degree whether or not they’re lying. He signals to MJ, who tells the two adults.</p><p>	Using this system, they find out that they are here to try and take some of the resources from Wakanda. Vibranium, obviously, but also trying to maybe score some technology or even some of the more unique plants that have been rumored to be native to the land. What causes Peter to have to actually grip MJ a bit to hold her back was when they figured out that the group had captured some of the native Wakandans in the area.</p><p>	“None of them are dead,” the bound man says a little quick as the knife starts to draw blood. “And we treated the injuries. We just wanted info out of them.”</p><p>***</p><p>	It takes fifteen minutes for more people to arrive to pick up the thieves. It only takes another two for MJ and Peter to convince everyone that they should go along to rescue the captives.</p><p>	Still the teens are now with six Wakandan warriors, looking out at a clearing in the darkness. Only a couple of hours before the sun starts to rise again, so they have to work fast.</p><p>	They make quick work of the perimeter watch, and move in. Peter and MJ head directly to the prisoner cages. As they approach, one of the captive Wakandans spots them and freezes, eyes widening in fright.</p><p>	<em>“It’s okay,”</em> Michelle smiles. <em>“We’re here to rescue you.”</em></p><p>	They seem to relax slightly hearing that, but a few of them still glance nervously at the lanky dark form next to her.</p><p>	“He’s with me,” she assures them. She looks back at him, nodding.</p><p>	Peter grips onto the lock of the cage, crushing it in his grip and breaking open the door. They evacuate the hostages as Peter’s hearing picks up the sound of combat around them.</p><p>	The group reaches the tree line when Peter’s Spider Sense flares.</p><p>	“Down!”</p><p>	He grabs the nearest pair of people and puts himself in between them and the shooter. Michelle, reacting on instinct honed from trust, pulls the rest of them down and into the brush.</p><p>	Bullets hit Peter’s back. The suit holds, Shuri made sure of that, but it doesn’t feel great. Healing factor or not, he’ll have to get checked out when he gets back.</p><p>	As soon as he hears the click of an empty gun, he lets go of the civilians and leaps back, flipping around as he lands on top of the shooter. Then, he’s in combat.</p><p>	It doesn’t take very long to take down the guy. He probably wasn’t expecting Peter to jump so far. Took him off balance. However, just as Peter is about to join MJ with the evacuation, another man comes around the corner. It just becomes a constant through the next fifteen minutes. A few times it was two people, and once it was three, but Peter just kept jumping around and dodging bullets as he fights against the kidnappers. By the time the sun finally rises fully into view, the camp is clear of any sound of gunfire. Instead, the only sound is shouting and cursing in English, and the orders of the Wakandan warriors as they gather up their enemies.</p><p>***</p><p>	MJ is leaning against the wall as one of the medical staff examines Peter’s back.</p><p>	“Some minor bruising,” they report. “Should be more than that, even with Her Highness’s suit, your healing factor is quite fascinating. Though I would prefer it if you were to not take bullets to the back the next time you are in a firefight.”</p><p>	“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Peter smiles up at the doctor.</p><p>	“I’m sure you will be just like the other warriors and completely ignore the advice I’ve given. Be that as it may,” they sigh. “One of the people you covered for in that incident happened to be my nephew. I thank you for saving his life.”</p><p>	Peter doesn’t really know what to say as the doctor walks out of the room. As they do, MJ pushes herself off of the wall and walks towards him.</p><p>	“You know, you’re the talk of the villagers and the fighters now,” she’s grinning at her friend.</p><p>	“Really?” He frowns. “Why? I didn’t really do much.”</p><p>	“The people were amazed by how you were willing to take gunfire for them,” she explains. “Especially after they realized you weren’t Wakandan. Add on that your fighting style is a lot more acrobatic and with your dark threads, it’s something that causes you to stand out.” She let’s out a small chuckle. “Hell, a few of them have even given you a name. It’s started to catch on.”</p><p>	That catches the boy’s attention. “Really, what?”</p><p>“Night Monkey.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thought it'd be fun to put the Night Monkey reference in and also show that the Assassins are helping the Wakandans just as much as the Wakandans are helping them.</p><p>Comments and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Parting is such sweet sorrow.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A bit of a sad, but also hopeful, chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 14</p><p>	“You’re sure about this?”</p><p>	“Yep.”</p><p>	“Like, really sure?”</p><p>	“Dude, I’m sure. I’ve thought this through. I want this.”</p><p>	Peter smiles at his best friend. “Then, you better keep in touch, and update me on what you learn here, and Mr. Stark says you still have to help out in the company. If not, IT and R&amp;D might riot.”</p><p>	Ned chuckles. “Yeah, I’ll be sure to do that.”</p><p>	“Just,” Peter’s eyes start to well up. “I’m gonna miss you.”</p><p>	The two friends hug each other tightly.</p><p>	“Gonna miss you too, man,” Ned mumbles into his friend’s shoulder.</p><p>	Peter steps away, and MJ steps forward.</p><p>	“When we see each other again, you better be the best tech guy in Wakanda.”</p><p>	Ned laughs at her comment as they hug.</p><p>	It’s been a few months, but the most of the Assassins and Avengers are leaving today. On the Avengers’ side, it’s mainly just the people who are still legally allowed in the United States, minus Vision. On the Assassin side, they’re only leaving a small contingent of their people to assist in anything that might involve the Templars or with anything the Wakandans might need. Ned, much to the surprise of everyone around him, has volunteered to stay behind.</p><p>	“I can learn so much more here than I could at home. I’ve already called Mom, and she’s given me permission. She’s had the school keep on sending my work to me here, like it has been. Please, let me stay.”</p><p>	Everyone was a bit saddened, but understanding. For the past few days, Peter, Ned, and MJ were barely seen without each other. Understandable, they haven’t really been away from each other for long periods of time since they were toddlers. Now, however, they have to part ways, as everyone who is leaving loads up onto the quinjet.</p><p>	As the jet takes off from the landing pad, Peter and Ned are waving at each other through the windows. Ned stays on the landing pad until the quinjet gets too difficult to see. Then, Peter sees him stand there even longer, until the jet exits the camouflage barrier of the capitol city.</p><p>	“We’ll keep in contact,” MJ rubs Peter’s back in comfort.</p><p>	“Yeah.” Peter answers, frog in his throat.</p><p>	“At least, we’d better,” MJ scowls. “We both have the best internet signals in the world, and I’m not going to let him use the time change as an excuse.”</p><p>	That has Peter chuckling a bit as they lean into each other for the trip back home.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Temporary split up of the trio. Don't worry, he'll still be in the chapters on occasion. They had to leave eventually, though.</p><p>Comments and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Everything is connected in some way.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a bit more intermingling of the universes.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 15: Origins and Intersections</p><p>	It’s been weird.</p><p>	Not bad. Just weird. He’s not used to being away from Peter and MJ. Still, he’s been staying in contact, and Shuri’s great. They’ve really bonded in the time they’ve been together. He trains with her and they hang out in the lab, and she makes fun of the homework he’s being sent from school. They explore around the palace and the guards take them out into the jungle area. Shuri and a few of the other Wakandans have been teaching him a bit more Xhosa. He can’t get the pronunciation quite right for most of it, but he can understand what they’re saying a lot better.</p><p>	On the Assassin side of things, there’s been a small uptick in progress. Ned’s been given permission, along with Master Drake, to go down to the mines to check out the Precursor building. He knows he’s not as good at deciphering the language as Peter or MJ, but Rebecca says that Ned is better with Precursor tech than either one of them. They’ve been given permission to take pictures of the wall that’s been uncovered, and they can send those back for the real experts to figure out what’s written on the surface, but the technology itself can only be observed firsthand, and there are only a handful of outsiders that are allowed to access it.</p><p>	The Templars have definitely begun to move. On the surface, Wakanda’s received more than a few requests from Abstergo and their affiliates. Completely cordial and requesting access to some of the medical and communication technology that Wakanda has. For humanitarian efforts, is what the companies said, but everyone knows what happens when a billion-dollar corporation gets a foot into any door, and that’s not even talking about what’s going on in the shadows.</p><p>	With the spike in people attempting to infiltrate the isolated nation, the Assassin and the Wakandan border guard have been working double-time to prevent any harm to the citizens. Some of the organizations and groups that have been trying to forcefully gain access to the people and technology have been found to have connections to the Templars. Nothing concrete enough to expose Abstergo without revealing the Assassins, but it is enough to be able to track their movements to a certain degree.</p><p>	Finally, there’s the other guests. The Avengers. Well, the ‘Rogue Avengers’ anyway. The Vision and Scarlet Witch have been going back and forth between Wakanda and a whole bunch of other places that Ned’s been keeping track of through occasional posts from various social media sightings. Wanda Maximoff has pretty much been cleared of almost all charges in all but the most stringent and restrictive of countries and governments.</p><p>	The problem is the three that stayed behind. I mean, they seem nice enough, and one of them is Captain America, but he just gets so nervous whenever he even goes near any of them. He fought on the other team in Germany, and he’s even partially responsible for the Falcon’s drone being knocked out of the sky. Not to mention what he knows about the Winter Soldier. Sure, it wasn’t even Bucky Barnes’s fault that he was brainwashed into killing Peter’s parents, but it’s just the feeling that he gets every time he sees the group together. Captain America and Sergeant Barnes hardly ever leave each other’s sights, and Mr. Wilson is usually only away from them on rare occasions.</p><p>	Still, he’s getting better. He still hasn’t said a word directly to them, but he can be in the same room as them. He’s one of the people who is in the meetings between the Wakandans, the Avengers, and the Assassins. He’s the youngest that’s ever in those meetings, with Shuri being almost a year older. Still, he’s gotten used to presenting his findings to the group. It’s mostly finding out that the Precursor building isn’t one of the Temples, which they already knew. It was something for the common citizens, the workers. It had to have some value, though, to be built in such a way that it could survive this long. Still not very close to finding out what the second artifact is to open the building, but he’s figured out that they don’t have it. The thing that was decided on during the meeting was a slow excavation of the surrounding parts of the building to prevent collapse of the cave it’s in and maybe reveal a bit more of what’s there. It’ll take time, but time is what they have right now.</p><p>***</p><p>	He’s in the lab. In Shuri’s lab to be exact. He’s spent more and more time with her than with the other scientists as his time here has gone on. He’s got his own section of the lab where he works on his own designs and any work that is sent over from Stark Industries. He learns from her, and she learns from him. She’s a much better engineer than him by far, but he’s actually got a one up on her in programming and code. It’s mostly because she hasn’t really gone very deep into coding, due to being fairly isolated from the outside world and not really needing it that much. They both pick up on the things they lack, and it’s nice being able to bond with her over shared interests like science fiction and pop culture.</p><p>	He here’s the whoosh of the doors to the lab opening, and he grins.</p><p>	“Did you wanna finish up the suit designs first, or did you get inspiration for another one of the projects?”</p><p>	“Sorry, I don’t think I’m who you’re waiting for.”</p><p>	Ned spins around, eyes widening.</p><p>	“I was told to wait here for Shuri,” James Barnes smiles awkwardly. “She wanted to do some readings and measurements for a prosthesis.”</p><p>	Ned’s throat goes dry, and he stands there for a few moments. He opens his mouth to say something, when the door opens again and Shuri walks in.</p><p>	“Bucky! You’re here!” She smiles. She motions towards one of the tables. “Sit, sit. I’ll scan you again, check your condition. Then, we can go over different designs you might want for your arm.”</p><p>***</p><p>	It doesn’t take long for Shuri to finish with her scanning and medical check up on Bucky. Ned will be the first to admit that he isn’t a medical expert. He knows more than most because of his training, and he’s studied up even more ever since Peter started his vigilante work, but Shuri is as good as most doctors when it comes to the subject. Ned, on the other hand, can hold his own when it comes to the neurosciences. That’s why, when they actually start talking about the prosthesis, he can’t help but step in and use the science to distract himself from the other guest in the room.</p><p>	“From what I can see,” Ned flips through the progression of checkups throughout the time Bucky’s been here. “The nerves in your shoulder have recovered significantly since you’ve been in Wakanda and gotten their medical treatment.”</p><p>	“It’s definitely felt a lot better,” he chuckles. “Always had a bit of pain when I was wearing the old joint and adapter. It got to the point where I barely noticed it until Shuri and the other doctors fixed the issue.”</p><p>	With that, they start the designs. Bucky tells Ned and Shuri any specifics that he might want, while they go ham on the holotable to meet his needs and then some.</p><p>	“I like to have a good amount of dexterity,” the supersoldier tells them. “But I’d rather it not compromise any of the strength of the arm. Even though I’m not planning on it, I always seem to end up in fights. I’d also like it to be pretty watertight.” He frowns a bit. “From my memories, there was always internal damage from various things slipping through the cracks.”</p><p>	“Don’t worry,” Shuri smiles. “We’re allowed to use vibranium for most of it, so that’ll help tremendously.”</p><p>***</p><p>	“Hey, kid.”</p><p>	Ned looks up at the man in front of him. Shuri and him have been sitting shoulder to shoulder, listening to Bucky give input while they have the blueprint up on the screen.</p><p>	“Yeah,” the boy looks at the one-armed man. “Did you have a concern, or a question or something?”</p><p>	“Not about the arm,” he shakes his head. “That looks great. I was wondering about the whole.” He waves his hand around. “Templar versus Assassin thing.”</p><p>	That actually has Ned interested. He leans forward a bit, curiosity on his face.</p><p>	“Just,” Bucky continues. “I’ve been talking with your other Assassins about your whole history, and there’s something that’s been bothering me. It’s something that’s been in the back of my head, and I’ve been comparing it with my memories from HYDRA. I don’t mean any offense by it, really… It’s just, there are some glaring differences, but there’s so much similarity between SHIELD, HYDRA, the Templars, and even the Assassins.”</p><p>	“Well,” Ned actually smile, nodding. “I mean, SHIELD was infiltrated by HYDRA, so those similarities should make a lot of sense. Plus, the Assassins and Templars have been fighting against each other for millennia. We’ve started to adapt each other’s strategies in some ways as a counter. Plus,” Ned shrugs a bit. “Every single secret organization obviously has similarities in some way. There are basic textbook methods that help them escape public detection. However, and this is actually pretty cool, I learned it from Shaun a while ago, the Templars actually do have a connection with HYDRA.”</p><p>	Shuri, who had just been casually listening in while she continues working, saves her progress and turns to look at her partner. Bucky is frowning, eyebrows crinkled in concentration as he listens in.</p><p>	“So,” Ned smiles as he sees their attentiveness. “HYDRA was the name of the Nazi science division that was around from World War II until now. What I learned from Shaun was that it wasn’t always just a science division. It’s actually been an organization that’s obsessed over ancient and alien artifacts since the dark ages. They weren’t called HYDRA, obviously, that developed over time, but they still existed.”</p><p>	“That’s interesting,” Shuri frowns.</p><p>	“Yeah,” Ned nods. “But it gets better. Turns out, the organization that eventually became HYDRA was actually just an offshoot of the Templars.”</p><p>	“What?!” Bucky’s eyes widen in one of the largest displays of shock Ned’s seen from him.</p><p>	“They used to be Templars,” Ned continues his explanation. “For the longest time, the Knights Templar would only focus on the Precursor artifacts to the point where, in some generations, it became a sort of religious fervor. It mellowed out slightly during the European Renaissance, but it was pretty bad before it with all of the chaos. It was also at that time when the Templars discovered that the Precursor artifacts and Temples weren’t the only strange items on Earth. A split happened in the organization. Some thought that they should look into these other mystical items, others believed it was ‘sacrilegious’ to do so. There was conflict, there was blood. The Assassin took advantage of this and managed to push the Templars out of the northern regions of Europe for a time. Eventually, it led to the two sects completely severing ties with each other. Over the years, with all of the issues that happened during the Dark Ages, it got to the point where they didn’t even know what the other was doing. The Templars didn’t even realize the connection until recently. Shaun thinks it might have been one of the reasons they started getting into non-Precursor related items.”</p><p>	“Do you think that the Templars might try to reconnect with HYDRA?” Shuri frowns in concern. “Pool their forces to get rid of the Assassins and the new SHIELD?”</p><p>	“I asked Shaun the same question when he told me about it,” Ned smiles. “But he says that it probably won’t happen. HYDRA is too public now, with the SHIELD dump and everything. The Templars want to stay as under the radar as possible, so they can’t have any connections to the organization. They might try to infiltrate a few of the cells, the Assassins are doing the same thing to get information, but that’s all that should come of it.”</p><p>	Shuri just sits there for a few moments in contemplative silence. She processes that information for a few moments before she pulls up another screen on the holotable and begins typing quickly. Ned sees that it’s a file with various notes about the different organizations outside of Wakanda. It probably helps her organize everything in her mind, seeing as she hasn’t actually been outside of the country for extended periods of time.</p><p>	Bucky, on the other hand, looks stunned. It takes even longer than Shuri to recover from that information. Makes sense. The organization that had caused him so much suffering was just an offshoot of another even larger conspiracy. Then, he looks up.</p><p>	“What about the Assassins? Any super big, super scary organizations that we should know about from them?”</p><p>	“Maybe?” Ned says, a bit unsure and hesitant. “I mean, there are plenty that have left the Order, and some others that have betrayed us. Entire cells have done so in the past. The problem is that the Assassin mindset usually causes them to go off on their own or join the Templars. Some of them become mercenaries. Pretty good ones at that. Others try to form their own organizations, but they tend to just fade out of existence because of a lack of structure. We try to deal with them before they get too public, but if we can’t, we just make sure that they won’t expose us and we keep an eye on them. After that, we treat them like any other public organization. Infiltrate if possible, and use them to our advantage.”</p><p>	Bucky is kind of surprised at the mature way of speaking from the teenager that was obviously nervous around him less than an hour before. Shuri has become used to the change that comes over Ned when he starts talking about something that he’s experienced in. It’s not a night and day shift, but it can come as a shock to anyone who doesn’t understand him. Shuri thinks it is kind of nice. He’s humble, but he doesn’t underestimate his talents. It’s why she enjoys working with him more than most other scientists here. The others can be a bit grating. Besides, she can even talk science with him while they spar together.</p><p>	For the next two hours, Ned and Shuri are lost in their work, perfecting the design for Bucky’s arm. It doesn’t take long for them to get the specifics finished and for Shuri to review Bucky’s treatment routine to see if there’s any changes that are needed. In the end, the two teens give him a wave goodbye as James Barnes goes back to find Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson.<br/>
 </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>When I watched Agents of SHIELD, I thought it was pretty cool that HYDRA didn't actually start with the Nazis. When I started thinking about this crossover, I thought it would also be pretty cool to explain the major similarities between the Templars and Hydra. Seeing as the Templars have been around longer, I figured they'd be the mother organization.</p><p>Comments and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Avengers/Assassin team up everyone needs, but not everyone knew they wanted.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It is time for a very important set of characters to get their limelight.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 16: Underestimated; Not Underappreciated</p><p>	He still can’t relax. He’s not even sure how he made it this far, other than a combination of luck, skill, and a whole lot of technical genius that goes way over his head. Despite all of this, it’s not really his job to be the tech guy. No, he’s just supposed to plug into the computer, get what these guys need, and get out of there.</p><p>	He’s already got directions. There have been enough interviews in this place to know where he needs to plug in. Without a sound, he glides towards the terminal. However, just before he can get to it, he hears a whirring from behind.</p><p>	Spinning around, his gun is drawn, and his knife is out in his other hand. Still he only has time to see the blank space behind him before he’s blind. Eyes burning, unable to see, he takes a frantic swipe in front of him, but hits nothing but air. Then, he feels a hard object suddenly slam against his head, and there’s nothing but black.</p><p>***</p><p>	Peter gets a notification on his phone, as he looks down at it, he stands up suddenly.</p><p>	“We have to get to the Compound.”</p><p>	“What?” Tony frowns. “Why? The appetizers haven’t even come yet.”</p><p>	But Peter isn’t having any of it. His face is serious. MJ, who was sitting next to him, sees this and is getting her own jacket on.</p><p>	“There’s been a security breach,” Peter tells his mentor.</p><p>	“What?” The billionaire repeats, standing up, a little more concerned. He fishes out his own phone. “FRIDAY hasn’t sent me any notifications.”</p><p>	“Not the first time your AI’s been hacked,” MJ states calmly.</p><p>	Tony is unsure, but he trusts his protégé. He finishes pushing his chair in, while Pepper is already speaking with their waiter, telling him that they’ll have to leave early. She still pays him the complete amount for the meal and apologizes for the inconvenience before the four of them rush out to get their car from the valet.</p><p>***</p><p>	While they’re on their way back, there’s a notification that appears on the onboard screen of the car. It shows it’s from FRIDAY, and her voice sounds through the speakers.</p><p>	“Boss, there’s been an intruder in your lab.”</p><p>	“Yeah, FRI,” Tony speeds up even more with that confirmation. “Pete got message about it. Any explanation on why I didn’t get it sooner?”</p><p>	“I am sorry, Boss,” she apologizes. “I am afraid that multiple people managed to override different portions of my system to gain access and prevent me from sending out a distress signal.”</p><p>	“It’s fine, babygirl,” he sighs. “We’re almost home anyways. We’ll check the damage when we get there. Do you know what they took?”</p><p>	“Nothing, Boss. The perpetrator was subdued before they could access our systems.”</p><p>	That throws Tony and the rest of the car for a loop.</p><p>	“What? But I thought that the rest of the Avengers were out for the day.”</p><p>	“They are, but it seems we have another, less conventional, security system in the lab.”</p><p>***</p><p>	When the four people get to the lab, needless to say they’re shocked.</p><p>	It’s a very interesting sight. In front of them, in the middle of the lab floor, by the main console, is a man. Said man is webbed to the floor, struggling to escape. As he hears the lab doors open, and sees who’s in the doorway, that struggling seems to redouble as he mutters all manner of profanities at his current state.</p><p>	Surrounding the man are three very familiar and simply constructed bots. DUM-E is holding a fire extinguisher in his claw, while Stabby the Roomba-ssassin is at the man’s head. U is a bit further away than the other two, but they can see that the bot is between the man and a few weapons.</p><p>	“Pep,” Tony keeps his gaze on the man. “Contact our associates and see if they can pay us a short visit.”</p><p>	“Do you think he’s…?” She trails off, but they all know what she’s asking.</p><p>	“Not sure,” he replies. “But it’s better to be certain. Jones, Peter, help the bots guard our little cat burglar while I try to figure out what happened here. Pete, you might want to get Spider-man’s webshooters on, just in case the webbing needs another application.”</p><p>***</p><p>	A few of the Assassins get to the Compound and are currently in one of the conference rooms with Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Peter Parker, and Michelle Jones. They are going over the footage from Stabby’s camera and what little they could scrounge and clean up from FRIDAY while she was fighting off what was probably a veritable army of hackers.</p><p>	It’s a pretty funny story actually. The guy successfully breaks into the lab, without any large problems so far, and manages to almost make it to what was probably his target, when he turns around due to what was probably the sound robots rolling towards him. He’s obviously trained in combat, if his quick reaction time means anything, but he doesn’t look down to see a tiny Roomba had taken aim with its little salt shooter.</p><p>	“It’s not just salt anymore,” Peter gives a bashful smile. “Ned and I gave him a few updates. Ned gave him an update on his decision-making and critical thinking abilities, while I made it so that he could cycle through a couple of different options in his gun for home defense. I got the idea to make a pepper spray type mixture from living through Ezio’s memories of Constantinople, and the webshooter option should be kind of obvious, right?”</p><p>	Now blinded by pepper spray, the man tries desperately to slash at anyone coming towards him, but what he can’t see is the fire extinguisher being swung at his head by DUM-E. Now unconscious and flopped onto the ground, U uses his claw to pull the weapons out of the man’s loosened grip, and Stabby switches over to the web setting and goes about sticking the man’s limbs and torso to the floor.</p><p>	More than a few of the adults in the room are shocked at what they see, while others are fighting back smiles and giggles at the video.</p><p>	Surprisingly, William Miles is the one that cracks the first joke.</p><p>	“I think I owe an apology to Ms. Crane, Mr. Hastings, and you, Disciple Parker. As well as Footpad Leeds, when we next contact him. Apprentice Stabby is an excellent addition to the Order.”<br/>
 </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The bots have their day!</p><p>A couple of things that I want to point out about the universe that none of you actually asked for, but it bothered me not telling you about them. So, excuse my slight rant in these next couple of paragraphs.</p><p>First, I would like you to know that I mainly call the Isu the "Precursors" because, when I started this fic, I had forgotten that they were also called the Isu and I had just finished playing Jak and Daxter, so Precursor just stuck in my mind. It's also why I call the DNA enhancements "Assassin genes" instead of Isu.</p><p>The second thing is about speaking another language. Like I said, I only speak English. I do, however, know that when someone learns another language they don't "switch between" the two. Not really sure how to explain it very well, but people who speak more than one language tend to have them "blend together" in there head. They mix up words or add on letters or syllables to the words or even forget the word in a certain language all together. I know this because I have plenty of friends who have the attention span and focus, as well as the intelligence, to learn more than one language. The thing is, I wanted there to be slight differences between learning a language the old fashioned way and gaining the knowledge through the Animus. The people who learn it through the Animus have a bit of a separation between the two languages because they literally got it from living another life and they don't really use those languages in real life very much.</p><p>Anyway, thank you for reading my rant if you did. If not, that's cool. It doesn't really affect the story very much, so you don't have to. It was just something that I wanted to get out there and I couldn't think of a good enough chapter to do it in.</p><p>Hope you enjoyed this chapter, though.</p><p>Comments and Kudos. Don't be mean.<br/></p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Old friends, new friends, and others.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter was actually a long time coming.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 17: An Interesting Reunion</p><p>	“Boss, our satellites detect a large spacecraft on a course towards Earth’s atmosphere.”</p><p>	That causes all of the people in the room to lift their heads up. There’s a collection of Avengers, retired Avengers, Avenger adjacents, international dignitaries, and four very familiar teenagers in a large conference room at the Compound. There’s confusion, interest, and panic on various faces in the room. Still, Tony Stark takes the lead.</p><p>	“FRIDAY,” he starts as he stands up. “See if you can predict where they’ll be landing, and see if they’re sending out some sort of signal. They might be trying to communicate with us.”</p><p>	“Should we get suited up?” Natasha frowns.</p><p>	“Yes,” Tony responds. “They might be trying to communicate with us while they land, but we should still be prepared for anything.”</p><p>***</p><p>	They got a signal from the ship. It’s nothing that interferes with the technology on Earth, so they think that it’s friendly. The problem is, it’s not on any frequency that they have a receiver for to translate it into a message.</p><p>	Stark and the other dignitaries that are at the Compound contact the various governments they represent to let them know they are tracking the ship and to stand by for a report on its destination.</p><p>	Oddly enough, however, the ship seems to be adjusting its trajectory towards the Compound. That sets them a bit on guard. Not as much as if it was going towards a heavily populated area, but it’s still a bit suspicious.</p><p>	The Avengers are standing out in the large field in front of the main building of the Compound. All of them are suited up, while the civilians and the teens are inside of the building, waiting for the all clear. Most of the teens can defend themselves just fine, but they’re also either unenhanced, royalty, have secret identities to maintain, or are some mix of two of those options.</p><p>	The ship lands, which is very comforting due to it not just firing at them with whatever weapons it might be equipped with, and the hatch on its side opens up. As it lowers, every single person who was ready for a fight immediately relaxes their guard. Many of them breathe out sighs of relief when they see who’s at the top of the ramp.</p><p>	“My friends!” Thor shouts jovially. “It is good to see you again!”</p><p>***</p><p>	With the coast clear and the various governments assured, the rest of the noncombatants exit the Compound to greet the Norse god. To many of their surprise, they also find Doctor Bruce Banner coming off of the ship next to the other Avenger.</p><p>	“Bruce,” Nat’s eyes widen a bit at seeing him.</p><p>	“Hey, Nat,” he raises his hand awkwardly. “Everybody. Long time no see.”</p><p>	“Good to see ya,” Tony opens his arms up wide. “Got a lot to catch up on.”</p><p>	“Yes,” Thor gives an amused smirk. “There is. But while we do so, I would like to ask if you could assist me in finding lodgings for the rest of my people on the ship.”</p><p>	“Your people?” Clint, who had been there for discussion on his retirement and been given emergency permission to suit up, looks behind Thor at the ship.</p><p>	At the top of the ramp, the Avengers were expecting the Asgardian warriors that Thor had regaled them about in many of his stories. Instead, what they get are a few warriors, but mostly women, children, and elderly. They’ve heard that the women can fight as well as the men, but only one of those looks like an actual fighter amongst them. She’s standing in front of the obvious citizens, slightly on guard with the rest of the fighters as they look suspiciously at the scene in front of them.</p><p>	“Like you,” Thor looks back at his people sadly. “I have much to tell you about events that have transpired.”</p><p>	“We’ll rush order some tents and other camping supplies for now,” Pepper takes the lead. She smiles at Thor. “They’ll have to camp outside or in the ship for a few days while we get some more comfortable lodgings.”</p><p>	“We can clear out a few of the emptier buildings in the Compound,” MJ walks forward, calm and composed. “Maybe some of the storage areas with less classified items. Set up a sort of barracks type structure and give them beds. Maybe bunkbeds, to make the space more efficient. At least until we find a more permanent place for them. It’s not too cold at night, but we can’t rule out rain at this time of year.” She turns to look at the god, and extends her hand. “Michelle Jones. I’m Ms. Potts’ intern.”</p><p>	“It is a pleasure to meet you Lady Jones,” Thor engulfs her hand with his own.</p><p>	Next to Michelle, are three other teens that, although they throw glances at Thor, are focused on the smaller man next to him. Bruce finally notices the stares and turns to them.</p><p>	“Yes?” He frowns, a bit confused, a bit cautious.</p><p>	“You’re Bruce Banner,” Ned breathes out. “You’re-.”</p><p>	“I know,” he sighs. “The Hu-.”</p><p>	“The most renowned scientist of our times!”</p><p>	The two boys rush forward, with Shuri following behind at a slightly calmer rate.</p><p>	“We’ve read all of your papers,” Peter gushes as he beams at him. “We’re big fans.”</p><p>	“And you understood them?” Bruce Banner’s eye widen a bit.</p><p>	“Bruce,” Tony Stark walks up and pats his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “I’d like to introduce you to my personal intern, Peter.” He then nods at Ned. “And his friend, Ned, who can have my R&amp;D and IT Departments up in arms in order to get time with him.” He then nods towards the third teen. “And this is Princess Shuri of Wakanda.”</p><p>	“Wakanda?” Bruce frowns. “The nation where they found vibranium?”</p><p>	Tony’s eyes widen in realization. “Right, you’ve been off Earth during their little unveiling. Guess that’s something we need to catch you up on.”</p><p>	Thor, Pepper, and MJ begin guiding the Asgardian refugees, as well as a few fairly interesting looking aliens, off of the ship to organize them and assist them in any way they can. They receive help from Heimdall, who they’ve heard a lot about, and an Asgardian woman named Brunnhilde in their task.</p><p>	While everything else get organized, Bruce stands off to the side and looks at the assembled team. He focuses for a few moments on Natasha, before scanning through the rest of the crowd.</p><p>	“Where’s Steve?” His brows crinkle in confusion. “I would’ve expected him to be here.”</p><p>	Tony Stark sighs, patting his friend on the shoulder. “That’s another thing we have to get you up to speed about.”</p><p>***</p><p>	While all of that is going on, the rest of the Avengers, Pepper Potts, Michelle Jones, and a few of the more charitable foreign dignitaries and politicians help with the refugees. They bring out a few chairs and allow some of the more elderly to sit down, as well as sending what little staff is at the Compound to bring out the various other canopies and seating that is in storage for large events.</p><p>	Michelle Jones is getting a headcount, when she feels Peter come up next to her. He knows not to disturb her, but she always welcomes his presence nearby. He looks over her shoulder at the tablet, no doubt double checking with his own mental headcount. Always good to have another opinion. That is until, she focuses on a particular person in the group.</p><p>	Michelle Jones is an Assassin. Not just a member of the Order, but one of the relatively rare people confirmed to have the enhancements of the Assassins in her very DNA. Peter’s been training his own enhancements, but he’s also been focusing a lot more on the spidery side that came from his little bite. She, however, has trained her own, admittedly lesser, enhancements to where she can use them regularly and instinctively.</p><p>	One such thing she has learned is to use her Eagle Sense on regular and irregular intervals. Whenever she even thinks about it, as a matter of fact. Shaun, Master Drake, and even Desmond Miles have drilled into her that doing this will allow you to discover things you may not even know you didn’t know. She finds clues to lost items and discovers valuables that she was never looking for in the first place. She’s avoided and gotten the drop on people who had bad intentions towards her in various ways. It’s helped her so much since she’s developed this habit.</p><p>	Today, it’s helped in something she never would’ve thought it would. Obviously, it’s not really something that comes up very often. She straightens herself a bit more, puts on her best smile, and walks towards the crowd of people.</p><p>	There’s an old man, leaning heavily on his cane, as he stands around with the rest of the Asgardians. She walks towards him and her smile widens.</p><p>	“Excuse me, sir,” she takes his hand and places her other on his back, gently guiding him. “We have a few more open seats. Come, you’re probably tired from your long trip.”</p><p>	The old man jolts a bit in surprise, but gives her a toothy grin. “Thank you, Miss. That is very nice of you.”</p><p>	She guides him a little way further towards the canopies and chairs, making sure to keep a slower pace due to his shuffling walk. However, just as they get to a small cleared space in between chatting groups, her grip tightens on the hand she’s holding. She sends a quick kick to the back of the man’s knees, twisting his arm around behind his back and forcing the old man face down on the ground as his cane falls out of his grip. With him pinned to the ground, Michelle Jones’ formerly cordial features turn intense and menacing. The crowds surrounding the pair create a circle around them in shock.</p><p>	“What,” the old man grumbles. “Is wrong with you? Are all Midgardians this disrespectful towards their elderly?”</p><p>	“Drop the act,” MJ snaps. “Or else.”</p><p>	“Em, what’s going on?”</p><p>	She doesn’t look up as Peter pushes his way through the crowd. Peter for his part, is curious, but he isn’t looking at MJ with any sort of accusation. He trusts her judgement more than almost anyone else he knows. In another part of the crowd, a larger group causes ripples as the people part around them.</p><p>	“Michelle,” Pepper Potts gasps. “What-?”</p><p>	But Michelle Jones isn’t listening. Instead, she pulls out one of the knives she has on her body, something that causes a few eyebrows to raise from the government officials, and holds it to the old man’s throat.</p><p>	“Drop the illusion,” she growls. “Or we get to see if Asgardian skin really can stop a Midgardian blade.”</p><p>	There are more than a few people that aren’t in the know that are staring at the girl in shock. Thor, Bruce, and Brunnhilde are looking at the scene with eyes wide, but they look more impressed than anything else. Peter Parker, finally catches on and activates his own Eagle Sense. What he sees causes him to secretly palm his own knife in case MJ needs backup.</p><p>	She doesn’t. It only takes seconds before the old man’s panicking face turns to one of resignation.</p><p>	“Fine,” he sighs.</p><p>	The form of the man shifts. The hair darkens from white to black, the clothes go from a raggedy brown to a dark mixture of black and green, and the wrinkled features turn into an angular facial structure that is familiar to the people surrounding them. The only things that don’t change are the emerald green eyes.</p><p>	“If I agree to be put in a pair of those power dampening cuffs you all seem to enjoy,” Loki sighs. “Can we get up off the ground?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I completely agreed with CaptainCapybara back in Chapter 13. I wanted to find a way to showcase MJ's Eagle Vision in a way that would intersect with the Marvel Universe. I figured her being the second Midgardian to trick Loki would do it.</p><p>For those of you that are wondering, I have played Assassin's Creed 1, The Ezio Collection, and Assassin's Creed 3. If you have any references about any of the later games that you'd like me to add into this, I might be able to do it, but there are plenty of changes that have been caused simply from Desmond and Lucy surviving.</p><p>As far as Infinity War is concerned, I am planning on an eventual introduction of Thanos, but when that happens is still up in the air.</p><p>Remember, if you have any requests or questions, feel free to comment. Can't promise I'll be able to get to them immediately, but I do care about your opinions.</p><p>Comments and Kudos. Don't be mean.</p>
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